Take the Shot
by Roymeo
Summary: Echo and Speedy had always been best friends, way before the start of it all. The two of them were inseparable, until arguments and Echo's past threaten to destroy everything they once knew. Red Arrow/OC Sorry for the sucky summary...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ah, yes, I'm sure you're all quite sick of these fics that go along with the story with minimal variation, so I'm sorrry, but this is one. I swear on my life that it's more interesting than most, and there is a subplot going on that I DO own, so that's pretty good. If you think that you can't handle reading another one of these, just check out my Jesster Chronicles strories instead, and I'm sure that will satisfy you. Nonetheless, I'd love you forever if you'd send me a review on any of them. Please? Constructive criticism is always appreciated, but flames will be thoroughly doused in water :)**

"You know, this gets really old, really fast," 16 year old Tessa Flynn sighed, dipping into a back bend to avoid another icicle that was shot at her. The attacker was a boy no older than twelve, who went by the name of Jack Frost. He had a nasty temper, which made him blow up like a top whenever he missed, practically throwing a temper tantrum. The little kid had cyrokenisis – the power to control ice – and was quite good at using it, so it was too bad he had two females equipped with Sonic Screams to shatter his ice.

It would be easy to take him down, because he is only twelve after all, but Black Canary wanted Tess to stall him for whatever reason, so she could swoop in and catch him unaware.

"Listen, kid, you wanna calm down a little?" Tessa, also known as Echo, threw a feigned kick at the boy's side. "You know, chill out?" She chuckled appreciatively at her joke, causing the boy to roll his eyes.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," he scowled, throwing more ice shards at her, which she dodged carefully. "Would you stay still so I can hit you?"

"Uh, _no._"

Black Canary made a motion with her hand up on the rafters of the warehouse, signaling that she was going to swoop in. Tess sighed, figuring this was all useless, but did as she was told. All it would take is to distract him a little bit more...say something, stupid! "You know what my favorite food is, Jacky?" _Okay, random, but I can go with it._

"No, what?" he asked, confusedly, but not ceasing in his efforts to incapacitate her.

"Ice cream," she answered lightly, just as Canary leaped from the rafters and kicked him in the back, sending him to the ground with an 'oof.' The sound of ice shattering filled the warehouse as Echo leaned down to his pained face. "I'd offer to take you out for some, but," she released a wail that knocked him unconscious. "I'd say juvie is gonna keep you busy for _quite_ a while."

"I see you've been working on your heroic banter," Canary teased, hand cuffing the boy as police moved in. "But you need to focus more, he almost got you that last time. I thought I was gonna have to pull an icicle out of your pancreas for a second."

"Thank you, oh wise Canary," Tessa deadpanned, trying not to think about the stares the two were getting as they made their way to where their motorcycles were parked. No matter what the circumstance was, the two blondes always managed to gain male attention, sometimes even from the villains themselves. Of course, their outfit choices didn't exactly scream innocent either. It's amazing how perverted men are, whether they be old, young, human, or not. Even though Tess was only sixteen, she could always feel the appreciative looks she received on a daily basis from random passersby or even the police themselves should they be involved. It all made her very uncomfortable, having been used to wearing a full body suit before she was forced to don the black and yellow bustier leotard by Canary. "Can we go now?"

"You sound excited," Dinah mused, mounting her bike and bringing it to life after putting the helmet on her head.

"You sound surprised," the younger girl bit back, mirroring her mentor's actions. "Today _is _the day, after all."

– Hall of Justice –

"Today's the day," Batman said, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder while Tess leaned on the other, being taller than the boy by at least a head.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow continued.

"Headquarters of the Justice League," Aquaman finished.

"Are you guys ready?" Black Canary asked from her spot next to her protege, who turned to her with an excited look. Tess opened her mouth to speak, but it snapped closed as she turned along with the others when a flash of yellow and red appeared.

"Aw man!" Kid Flash whined as the Flash stopped beside him. The redhead crossed his arms and turned to his mentor. "I knew we'd be the last ones here!"

The group sighed at the two, and they started to make their way to the Hall, who's front entrance had grown a crowd of tourists. Lovely. "How is it that the heroes with super speed are always late?" Tess asked as Wally came to stand next to Robin.

A sly smirk formed on the speedster's face as he raked his eyes over her body. "Hey beautiful, totally digging the new costume. Maybe –"

"Save it, Twinkletoes," she warned, waving a finger in his direction. Robin snickered at the nickname, and at the speedster's put out expression.

"Dude, harsh," KF grumbled, looking away.

"Can't you two be serious for once?" Speedy glared, causing Tess to roll her eyes and KF to stare at him incredulously.

"Uh, no," he answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world (That isn't really far from the truth either).

"Where would the fun be in that?" Echo continued, putting her gloved hands on her hips. "Maybe you should just loosen up a bit, Red."

Speedy didn't answer, and instead chose to stare ahead again moodily as they began to walk towards the entrance to the hall – which was surrounded by civilians and other tourists trying to take pictures of the group.

"Is that Batman?"

"Look there's Black Canary and Echo!"

"I see Flash, and Flash Junior!"

"Isn't his name Speedy?"

"No, Speedy is Green Arrow's sidekick."

"Well, that makes no sense." Echo giggled, her hand over her mouth while she waved to a group of boys, who were staring open-mouthed at her. Okay, so she liked attention...a lot.

"Ready to see the Inner Sanctum?" Green Arrow asked, and a smirk appeared on his partner's face.

"Born that way."

"I'm glad we're all here," Aqualad stated.

Echo smiled at the Atlantean. "Me too."

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time –" Wally began excitedly, until Speedy cut him off.

"_Don't _call us sidekicks," he glared. "Not after today."

"Sorry. First time at the Hall, I'm a little overwhelmed."

"No kidding," Echo remarked, making a face at the giant white building before them.

"You're overwhelmed, freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" Robin asked as they entered the Hall. He froze, mouth open, as he caught sight of the seven giant bronze statues of the founding members of the League, looking extremely heroic and threatening. "Oh, maybe that's why."

"Not to mention whelmed isn't even a word, Bird Brain," Echo smirked, elbowing his side lightly. He glared at her.

The iron-clad double doors in front of them opened with a hiss, revealing Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado. "Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Echo, Kid Flash, welcome," Martian Manhunter greeted, before turning around and leading the group into the elevator-type thing. At least, it looked like an elevator, but as soon as the doors they entered shut, the wall on the other side opened up, revealing a library/meeting room. "You know have full access to the gym, our fully stocked galley, and of course, the library."

Automatically, as soon as Flash said, "Make yourselves at home," Echo went towards the shelves of books while the three younger boys flopped down in armchairs. Speedy was left standing in the middle of the group while the mentors discussed something in hushed tones.

"Speedy," Echo called, and he turned his head toward her. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

He nodded slightly, making his way towards her while the other boys eyes followed him interestedly. "What's wrong?" he whispered, bowing his head so he could look her in the eye.

"What's your deal, Roy?" she hissed back, fixing him with a glare that could peel paint. "I mean, why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. Why are you being so harsh towards the boys? What happened to the guy I played Undead 2 with yesterday at his apartment? Because I definitely like him a helluva lot more than the guy I'm seeing now," she glared.

Tessa and Roy had been friends for years, ever since Green Arrow and Black Canary introduced them to each other when they were kids. Roy being Ollie's adopted son, and Tess being Dinah's adopted daughter, the two tended to spend a lot of time together whether in costume or as normal teenagers. Tess would even go as far as to say Roy was her best friend – not that she would admit it to his face or anything.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay Tess?" Roy sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm just stressed out."

Tess' eyes softened, and she touched his arm comfortingly, knowing she couldn't hug him like she usually did with the others watching like hawks. "'S fine, just try to chill out a little, okay? Your multiple personality disorder is making my head spin."

He chuckled, and most of the tension between them was released as she led him back over to the others. The computer began to scan the members of the League, who looked like they were going to leave somewhere. "What's going on?" Echo asked Robin, who shrugged.

"Mission debrief. Batman said they'll be back in a minute," he answered, and shot Speedy a weary look, who went from calm to enraged in seconds.

"That's it?" he blurted, stopping the League in their tracks. Echo winced, and retracted her arm. So much for chilling out. "You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass."

"It's a first step. You have been granted access few others get," Aquaman said.

"Oh really?" Speedy gestured to the glass panel on the wall, where on the other side tourists were standing, taking pictures of them and pointing. "Who cares which side of the glass we're on?"

"Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow said, stepping forward.

"What I need, is respect," he growled, turning away and facing the others. "They're treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks." (Which, in retrospect, isn't much worse at all). "We deserve better than this." They all shared a look, not really knowing what to say, and Echo bit her lip nervously. "You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why? Because you think they play fair?"

Now Echo was extremely confused. This was exactly how she figured it would go. Besides, they said they would be back soon, big deal. "Today was supposed to be _the day. _Step one into becoming full fledged members of the League."

"Well, sure...but I thought step one was a tour of the HQ..." Wally trailed off confusedly, while Tess kept her eyes on Speedy. _He knows something that we don't, _she thought warily. _Something important._

"Except the hall really isn't the League's HQ!" Oh, so that was the secret, judging by the shocked looks on each of the mentor's faces. "I bet they never told you it's just a false front for tourists. And a pit stop for catching zeta-beam teleporter tubes to the real thing; an orbiting satellite, called _the Watchtower_." Echo's eyes widened, along with the rest of the boys'.

Everyone turned on Green Arrow, who sighed. "I know, but I thought maybe we could make an exception." Batman's eyes narrowed menacingly. "...or not."

"You're not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman spoke. "Stand down, or –"

"Or what? You'll send me to my room? And I'm not your son, I'm not even his!" Speedy glared, and pointed to Green Arrow."I thought I was his partner...but not anymore." Speedy threw his hat down, before addressing the others. "I guess they're right about you four, maybe you're not ready."

She felt a pang in her chest, knowing that she was included in the "you four" he was talking about, but he had stopped in front of Tess regardless. "Are you coming or not?" he asked. She bit her lip and stared into his mask, feeling tears spring to her eyes. Dammit, why did she have to cry at a time like this? Seeing the tears, his eyes softened, and his voice took on a pleading tone. "Tess..."

"If you want to throw everything away, fine," she hissed, suddenly feeling incredibly angry at the archer. He insulted her, maybe not intentionally, but it hurt her a lot more than he knew. "But don't expect _me_ to do the_ same_."

Roy glared, and turned away, stalking toward the door. It wasn't until then that she realized what she had just done, and tried to call after the archer. "Roy!" she gasped. "Roy, wait!" But he had already slammed the door and was gone by the time she finished.

The room was silent, all eyes on where the former hero was standing a moment ago, and Tess desperately tried to control her tears. Black Canary was the first to make a move, and walked over to her daughter and partner, pulling her into a hug. Echo sniffed, and tried not to cry in front of the others, who were giving her sympathetic looks. She didn't want their sympathy.

Before anyone else could do anything, an alarm sounded, and Superman appeared on the giant monitor system screen on the wall. "Superman to Justice League, there's been an explosion at Project Cadmus; it's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus. It may present the perfect opportunity to –" Batman was cut off by Zatara, who suddenly appeared in the bottom corner of the screen.

"Zatara to Justice League!" he gasped. "The Sorcerer of Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full league response!"

Batman paused, "Superman?"

"...It's a small fire. Local authorities have it under control," he replied.

"Then Cadmus can wait." The Dark Knight cut off the com link, and pressed another button to contact the other members of the League. "All League members rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates." He turned to the four 'sidekicks.' "Stay put."

"What? Why?" Robin exclaimed.

"This is a League mission," Black Canary said, and Echo turned on her with an angry look.

"I thought we were going to be part of the League?" she frowned, narrowing her eyes at all of the adults, who returned her gaze stonily. "Or maybe that was a lie, too?"

"You're not trained –" Flash began, only to be cut off by his protege.

"Since when?"

"I meant you're not trained to work as a part of this team," he amended, gesturing to Batman, Aquaman, Canary, and himself.

"There will be other missions, when you're ready," Aquaman stated.

Echo scoffed. "We are ready!" She was silenced with a glare from her mentor, but crossed her arms in a stand-offish pose nonetheless, holding her ground.

"For now," Batman glared. "_Stay put_."

The four turned and exited after Manhunter, Green Arrow, and Red Tornado, leaving the four alone. Echo sighed agitatedly, running a hand through her hair. "This _sucks,_" she groaned. "I can't believe they would do something like that."

"When we're ready?" Kid Flash repeated, having come out of a stupor and began pacing. "How are we ever supposed to be ready when they treat us like...like sidekicks?"

"Newsflash Kid," Echo began bitterly. "We _are_ sidekicks."

Aqualad frowned. "My mentor, my King...I thought he trusted me."

"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ, in space!" Wally shouted, throwing up his arms.

"As much as I hate to admit this, KF's right. What else aren't they telling us?" Echo asked.

"I have a better question; why didn't we leave with Speedy?" Robin questioned, and Tess froze. Why didn't she leave? Roy was right, and he even offered to take her with him, but she declined, in favor of holding on to the little hope that he wasn't telling the truth, and her own mother actually trusted her. Hell, she didn't even trust her enough to tell her about the Watchtower, who's to say they aren't just stringing them along to get them off their backs about joining the League.

Kid Flash turned to Echo, frowning. "Why didn't _you _leave with Speedy?"

She bit her lip. "I guess I just hoped he was wrong. I was under the impression Canary was honest with me about everything." Tess glared at her feet. "What a joke."

The room was silent until Aqualad spoke up tentatively, "What is Project Cadmus?"

"Don't know..." Robin trailed off, before a sly smirk formed on his face and he dashed toward the computers. "But I can find out." He began to type a series of codes into the computer.

"_Access denied,"_ the computer spoke.

"Wanna bet?" the Boy Wonder snickered, entering a few codes. Files started appearing, and he bypassed firewalls and encryptions with ease, making Echo raise her eyebrows in amusement. Obviously, this kid had a lot of time on his hands.

"Whoa," KF gasped, looking like he was about to fall over in amazement. "How are you doing that?"

Robin grinned. "Same system as the Batcave."

"_Access granted."_

"Alright, Project Cadmus," Robin began. "...Genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is."

"Well, then that's it then. It's just a genetics lab," Echo shrugged, but Robin persisted.

"But if Batman is suspicious, maybe we should investigate."

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad said, turning to Echo, who looked a little wary. "It would be poetic justice."

Robin shrugged. "Hey, they're all about justice."

"But they said to stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission, not this!" he pleaded, excitement evident in his voice.

"Robin, I don't know about this..." Tess frowned worriedly. "We could get in serious trouble."

"Wait, are you going to Cadmus?" Wally asked excitedly, grabbing his friends shoulders. "Because if you're going, I'm going."

"Echo?" Aqualad began, looking over at the girl, who was cracking her fingers – a nervous habit. "Are you coming?"

She sighed, and brought her head up to look at the other's hopeful faces, like they wouldn't go without her approval. Slowly, a smirk spread across her face, and she eyed them all. "If you can handle it."

"Oh, we can totally handle it, beautiful," Wally grinned, slinging an arm over her shoulder.

"So just like that, we're a team on a mission?" Aqualad asked.

Robin gave him a determined look. "We didn't come for a playdate."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm a review addict, and I got a surprising amount of Favs in my inbox this morning, so I felt that in order for me to get more, I should post faster, yeah? Anyways, here's chapter 2, and chapter 3 should probably be up tomorrow around this time - that is, if i get enough reviews :)**

**Oh, and if you're curious as to what Echo looks like in my head, I'm going to put a link to my DeviantArt account, where I posted a picture of her. Now, on with the story!**

**Echo's POV**

Sirens screeched as the building in front of us continued to burn, while two scientists stood in the window, begging to be let down. And what were the upstanding firefighters of DC doing about it? I'll give you three guesses. If you guessed nothing, you would be correct.

"Stay put," one man called through a megaphone. I'm beginning to really hate those words in context together. "We will get you down!"

"Yeah, maybe in a year at the rate you're moving," I glared back as they gave me offended looks. "Hey, KF! Let's –"

"Already on it," he zoomed past me, making my hair fly into my face, and intercepted the scientists just as an explosion racked the building, knocking them out the window. He scaled the wall with ease, placing the scientists safely out of harms way on the top of the building when – just kidding, he slipped when he got to the roof.

"Genius," I muttered, grappling up the side of the building so I could help save the hero. Ironic, isn't it?

"It's what's-his-name! Flash Boy!" I snorted at that, and came up behind 'flash-boy' pushing his feet to help him through the window.

"It's Kid Flash!" he hollered out the window angrily and turned to me. "Why is that so hard?" Robin flew through the window next to us, cutting off whatever witty response I was going to give him. Where was Aqualad?

Figuring he could handle himself, I turned to Robin, who was busy hunched over a computer. "Jesus, you little computer gremlin, aren't we supposed to be investigating? The freaking building is on fire, shouldn't we be doing something about that, too?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he bit back "Besides, the fire department has it handled just fine."

"Sure didn't look like it," I grumbled, just as Aqualad entered via platform of water and gave us all a look.

"I appreciate the help," he said sarcastically.

"You handled it," Robin replied. "Besides, we're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?"

I followed Aqualad into the hallway, intent on finding some sort of material to help us with our search. I didn't plan on rifling through files for hours. Figuring I should look for any other scientists left in the building, I sent out a wave with my mind – echo was my namesake, after all – to locate them. I gasped and stumbled back into Aqualad when I felt a strong presence, and my head shot up to see a strange looking man enter the elevator. "Aqualad, look!" I pointed to the man, who was as thin as a rod and had giant horns sticking out the top of his large head. The doors closed, cutting off the view of him.

"There's something in the –"

"Elevators should be locked down," Kid Flash interrupted, making me jump. I turned around to glare at him.

"We saw something enter the elevator, and it was _not_ human," I frowned, and Robin rushed around the corner, pushing the down button repeatedly.

"This is wrong," he stated, and pulled up schematics for the elevator on his holographic projector from his watch. "This is a high speed express elevator; it doesn't belong in two story building."

Aqualad leaned over his shoulder to look at the image. "Neither does what we saw." He moved forward and wrenched the elevator doors open, revealing a seemingly endless elevator shaft.

"Two stories my ass," I whistled. "That's a long way down."

"And that's why they need an express elevator," Robin muttered, and shot his grappling hook toward the ceiling. Once it was secured, he jumped off the side and disappeared into the darkness.

"What, Rob-" I sighed, before grabbing onto the line and sliding down after him.

"I'm at the end of my rope," he stated, surprised, before swinging off to the side and leaping onto the small landing in front of the doors. I followed suit, trying not to look down and holding on tightly to the walls with my gloves, which stuck to smooth surfaces like suction cups, thank god.

"Sub-level 26," I read off the side of the shaft, turning to the younger boy as Aqualad landed beside me. "How many levels does this thing have?"

He ignored me, and announced as KF was helped onto the landing. "Bypassing security...okay, go."

Aqualad wrenched the doors open, and my mouth dropped open as we entered the hallway. Holy crap this was real.

"Welcome to project Cadmus," Robin mused, and I pressed my fingers to my temples.

"I'm searching for other life-forms..." I explained as they gave me weird looks. The waves rippled through the air, and bounced back. "Oh, yeah, there's definitely something here. A lot of somethings."

"Which way?" KF asked, and I pointed to the right. He shot off without another word. "Wait!"

We ran after him, just in time to see him almost get crushed by a giant monster. The ceilings in the hallway were about 30 feet high or so, and these...things' heads were pretty close to the top. Their faces looked like something from a horrible alien movie, with slanted red eyes and giant tusks from their bottom mouths. They were walking around on their fists like apes – giant, menacing, elephant-alien-apes. What really shocked me, however, was the intelligence radiating off the little things on their shoulders. They looked sort of like grey, hairless monkeys with giant red eyes. One turned to look at us, and it's red horns flashed creepily, sending me stumbling back into Aqualad for the second time today. "Sorry." He nodded, continuing to watch the herd of...whatever they were, pass us.

"No, nothing odd going on here," he remarked dryly as we stared open mouthed at the creatures.

I paused, and sent out another wave after they passed. "C'mon, this way." I led the others toward a door, and Robin began to hack. "There's a lot of freaky stuff going on behind...Jesus Christ!" The doors opened up, revealing walls completely covered with pods that contained freaky looking animals that radiated electricity.

"I'm officially whelmed," Robin stated.

"This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the rest of the world," KF began and walked in with the rest of us following behind. "The real Cadmus isn't even on the grid. It generates it's own power with these...things. That must be what they're bred for."

"Of course, even the name is a clue," Aqualad said. "The Cadmus of myth created a new race by sewing dragon's teeth into the earth."

"And this Cadmus creates new life, too," Robin remarked, before walking towards a computer position off to the side. "Let's find out why."

"This is so wrong," I whimpered, shying away from the creature that looked like it was staring into my soul. "What _are_ these things?"

"They call them Genomorphs," he said, flicking through different pictures. "Whoa, look at the stats on these things. Super strength, telepathy, razor claws...these are living weapons!"

"They're engineering an army," KF muttered, squinting at the monitor. "But for who?"

"And for what cause?" I continued, moving to the other side of Robin.

"Wait, there's something else...Project Kr. Ugh, the file's triple encrypted, I can't –"

"Don't move!" We froze and whirled around to see a man with a gold helmet rush in with a group of Genomorphs that looked even more like monkeys at his sides. Wait a second, I recognize him from somewhere... "Robin, Echo, Aqualad, Kid Flash?"

"At least he got your name right," Robin remarked to Kid Flash.

"Not the time, Rob," I glared, still frozen at the sight of those ugly things glaring at us, poised to strike.

"I know you," Aqualad said. "You're Guardian, a hero." So that's what where I knew him from!

"I do my best," Guardian replied modestly.

"Then what are you doing here?" KF asked, bewildered.

"I think that's my question, boys." I coughed, shooting him an angry look. "...and girl. I'm chief of security, and you're trespassing. But we can call the Justice League and figure this out."

"You think the League's gonna approve of you breeding weapons?"

"Weapons?" Guardian repeated, and the horned Genomorph on his shoulder turned to look at him. "What are you...what have I...ugh...my head..." The Genomorph's horns flashed again, and Guardian's expression suddenly changed from confused to enraged. "Take them down hard! No mercy!"

The elf-like Genomorphs jumped into action (you know, I'm just going to call them G-Elves from now on), and ran at us full speed. Robin quickly threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared, leaving the rest of us to fight blindly for our lives. I used my echolocation to locate a G-Elf, which was rushing right at me, and used my sonic scream to knock it back into another. Fumbling with my belt, I quickly shot my grappling gun to a rafter near the ceiling and shot off. _The others will be fine,_ I reasoned. _I just gotta get out of here._

Sensing Robin at the end of the hallway, I skidded to a stop beside him and pushed him away from the computer he was trying to hack. "What are you doing?" he yelled over the sound of the alarms.

"No time for hacking," I replied. "Plug your ears!" He did as he was told, and I let out a wail that short-circuited the system, and the door to the elevator hissed open. "Let's go!"

We dashed into the elevator, with KF following behind. "Way to be a team player, _Rob._"

"Weren't you right behind me?" I noticed we were missing a member, and gasped when I saw that our missing member was heading towards us.

"Aqualad!" I shouted, as he sprinted down the hallway, a group of G-Elves chasing him. He dove in the elevator, and we quickly closed the doors. I winced at the sound of bodies hitting the doors as the elevator sprung to life. "Wait, we're going down. Why are we going down?"

"Yeah, dude, out is up!" Kid exclaimed.

"Excuse me, Project Kr is down, on sub-level 52," Robin scowled.

I bit my lip. This was way too much to handle. "We need to get out of here."

"Echo's right; this is out of control," Aqualad sighed. "Maybe we should contact the League."

The elevator suddenly stopped moving, and a dinging noise signified that we reached our destination. The doors opened, and we all posed to defend ourselves should something attack. Nothing.

Robin immediately ran off, leaving me to trail behind him. There was no way I was letting him out of my sight again. We crouched down behind some discarded barrels, and I tried to see if there were other life-forms, but the walls – which were a squishy pink that reminded me of muscle tissue, with strange sacks of red and blue clinging together in random places – felt as if they themselves were alive, and I couldn't pick up a proper reading.

"Which way?" Aqualad asked, coming up behind us. I shrugged.

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "Bizarre looking hallway one or bizarre looking hallway two."

"Either way we're screwed," I added, rolling my eyes when they all shot me a look. "Just saying."

"Hold!" a voice shouted, and the creepy guy with the giant head and horns walked out into the open. He lifted a hand, and two barrels flew towards us, I somersaulted away, jumping to my feet as they hit the ceiling and exploded. It was almost as if he wasn't intending to hit us at all.

"I vote hallway two!" I shouted, stumbling as more explosions racked the ground. We sprinted down the hallway, until we reached another door. KF slid and kicked a lady scientist's legs out from under her, and used another barrel to keep the door open.

"Hurry!" he shouted, and I dove in after him, the other boys following behind. Aqualad kicked the barrel out from the door, and it locked with a hiss.

"I disabled the door, we're safe," Robin said as I walked over to a pod in the center of the room.

"No," Aqualad frowned. "We're trapped."

"What is it?" I asked tentatively, turning around to look at Kid, who was standing at the control panel. "It looks like a person."

He pressed a button, and the lights inside the pod lit up. I gasped, mouth dropping open as my suspicions were confirmed. "Uh, guys, you'll want to see this," KF stuttered.

"Whoa," I heard Robin gasp, but I was too busy staring at the person inside the pod to notice. He was a tall, muscular boy who looked to be around 16 or so, with jet black hair. His facial features were very familiar to me, and I struggled to remember who he reminded me of. Suddenly, I noticed the symbol on his chest – the same S on Superman's costume – and gasped in realization.

"Guys, doesn't he look kinda like..."

"Big K little R!" Wally began. "The atomic symbol for Krypton!"

I gave them all a certain look. "He's a clone."

"Robin, hack," Aqualad ordered, and the boy did as he was told, fumbling a little from the initial shock. It's not every day you see the clone of Superman...thank god for that.

"Weapon designation Superboy, a clone force grown in...sixteen weeks? From DNA acquired from Superman!"

"Stolen from Superman,"the Atlantean corrected.

KF agreed immediately. "There's no way the big guy knows about this."

"His solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7," Robin continued.

I continued to stare at the boy inside the pod, just noticing the three monkey-like things sitting in their own pods with wires running from them above the Clone. "And the creepy, hairless, alien monkey babies?"

"Genomorph gnomes," he answered (Robin, not the Clone). "Telepathic, force feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what else," Wally sighed. "They're making a slave out of, well, Superman's son."

"Now we contact the League," Aqualad said, pressing the symbol on his belt as the others tried to do the same. I pressed the com link in my ear.

"Echo to Black Canary," I muttered softly, "Do you read me?" All I heard was static. "I've got nothing, guys."

"We're in too deep...literally," KF frowned worriedly.

I felt an energy pulse from the G-Gnomes, and their horns flashed for a second. "Uh...guys?" I made my way back to the pod, staring up at the clone. Something bad was going to happen in a second, I could feel it.

"This is wrong," Wally stated.

"We can't leave him like this," Robin continued, and I nodded. We needed to set him free, I was sure of it.

Aqualad sighed, but gave his consent regardless. "Set him free, do it."

The pod opened up, and we all waited with bated breath for Superboy to do something. His hand twitched, and he curled it into a fist. I saw the horns of the G-Gnomes flash for a moment, and then the clone's eyes opened. _This isn't good, _I thought, and tumbled away just as he launched himself from the pod, barreling into Aqualad. They tumbled, and the clone landed on top, beginning to punch Aqualad with his giant fists. I rushed forward as the boys desperately tried to pull him off.

"Hang on, Supey!" Wally growled.

"We're on your side!" Robin shouted, just as Superboy landed a punch on KF, sending him flying through a giant glass tube. Rob hooked one arm around his neck as Superboy tried to hit him again. "I don't want to do this, but..." he stuffed something smoking into Superboy's mouth, and I screamed, making him fly across the room. I extended my hand toward Aqualad, who took it graciously, and hauled him up.

"Are you alright?" I asked. His face changed from grateful to horrified in a matter of seconds. "What –"

"Echo watch out!" he shouted, and I whipped around just in time for Superboy to plow into me, sending us both flying into a wall. He moved to punch me, but I moved my head out of the way just in time, and released a loud screech, causing him to fly away from me. Robin whipped out a taser and shot it at the clone as he landed on his feet, but Superboy simply grabbed the lines and ripped them off, tugging on them to send the Boy Wonder flying towards him. He batted him away like he was a fly, knocking him to the ground and standing on his chest.

"Enough!" I shouted, rushing forward at the same time as Aqualad, who had in his hands a giant hammer made form the water in his pack. He swung and hit Superboy dead on, sending him back into the upright table in the pod. The attack hardly seemed to phase Superboy, as he stood up almost immediately and began to walk towards us. I lifted up Robin slightly, and he winced. "Are you alright?" I asked, but he had already passed out.

"Stop! We are only trying to help you," Aqualad shouted, but the clone jumped at him again, but didn't reach his target. Instead, he veered for me, and picked me up, throwing me against the wall. I slumped forward after the initial impact, feeling my vision swim as everything started to dim, making it hard to discern what was going on. _Stay awake, _I thought desperately. _You have...to..._

It was a matter of seconds before everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, here it is, kids! I dunno if anyone actually ever reads these things, but you probably want to read this one. There will be no chapter 4 until i get 5 reviews for this one. That's right! I've seen all the favorites, alerts, and such, but what really inspires me to write/post is _reviews, _and as soon as i get five, there will be that nice, shiny chapter 4 in your inbox. Ready, set, go!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned YJ, Echo would be real, and Red Arrow would be on there _all the time_, sans Cheshire.**

"_Time runs short," _a voice that was clearly not mine echoed through my head. _"You must all awaken. You must awaken NOW!" _My eyes shot open, and I heard a gasp from beside me. "Guys?" I called tentatively, fearing the worst. I realized they were beside me in separate pods of their own, with myself placed between Aqualad and Kid Flash, with Robin on Kid's other side.

I looked down, and saw Superboy staring up at me with an expression on his face that I couldn't describe. "Um, hello?" I tried, starting to feel uncomfortable when his gaze didn't waver. "Okay, can you stop staring, or at least say something, please?" He continued to stare. "Stop staring, dammit, you're freaking me out!"

"Chill out, Echo," Wally spoke from beside me. "He's probably never seen boobs before." My mouth dropped open and I made a spluttering noise as I tried to find words, while Superboy's cheeks reddened slightly and he looked away.

"Kid, when we get out of here I'm gonna strangle you!" I shouted, struggling against my bonds that held my ankles and wrists in place. I turned on Superboy. "And you, keep your eyes to yourself!"

"Uh, guys, how about we not tick off the guy that can fry us with one look?" Robin suggested, and I glared at him. The room was silent until Aqualad spoke,

"We only sought to help you."

"Yeah, we free you, and you turn on us! How's that for grati-"

"Can it!" I interrupted, giving the speedster a withering glare, to which he ever-so-maturely replied with blowing a raspberry at me. I rolled my eyes, of course.

"Both of you, be quiet please," Aqualad sighed. "I believe our friend was not in control of his actions."

Superboy stared at us for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. "What if...what if I wasn't?"

"He can talk?" KF asked, surprised.

"Kid!" I complained. _It's amazing how he manages to always say__** the wrong thing**__ at __**the wrong time.**_

"Yes, _he _can," Superboy growled, clenching his fist.

"What?" Wally exclaimed after we all gave him exasperated looks. "It's not like I said it."

I grumbled under my breath. "You might as well have."

"The Genomorphs taught you, telepathically," Aqualad said.

"They taught me much. I can read, write, I know the names of things..."

"But have you seen them?" Robin asked. "Have they ever let you see the sky, or the sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind, but no...I have not seen them," Superboy admitted, looking away sadly, and I frowned. How could they do this to him? Mind control, keeping him locked up in here, he's a human being now, not just a genetic experiment.

"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Aqualad asked.

"I am the Superboy, a Genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he parish, or to destroy him should he turn from the Light."

We all exchanged a look. "To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration," Aqualad began. "But like Superman you deserve a life of your own, beyond your solar suit, beyond that pod, _beyond Cadmus."_

Superboy's face morphed form hopeful to angry in seconds. "I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!" I flinched at his tone, and bit my lip.

"Your home is a test tube," I stated plainly, looking him dead in the eyes when they traveled over to me.

"We can show you the sun," Robin said, but KF interjected quickly.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's past midnight...but we can show you the moon!"

"We can show you, introduce you to Superman," Aqualad continued, and I saw the excitement in Superboy's eyes, biting back a grin. He really was Superman's number one fan.

"No, they can't," a harsh voice stated, and a man in a lab coat appeared with the woman KF knocked down and Guardian flanking his either side. G-Gnomes sat on each of their shoulders. "They'll be...otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."

"Pass!" Robin called. "Batcave's crowded enough."

Doctor-Ponytail simply ignored him. "And get the weapon back in it's pod!"

"Hey, how come he gets to call Supey an it?" KF asked as a Guardian placed a hand on Superboy's shoulder. He scowled and shrugged it off.

"Help us," I pleaded. I _really _didn't want to be cloned. Judging by Cadmus' current style of mind control and creepy aliens to do it's bidding, it was probably going to be a painful process.

Superboy paused, and stared at me with his unnerving blue eyes. "Don't start thinking now," Desmond (I recognized him from the list of missing persons that Canary had) glared, walking past. The G-Gnome on his shoulder leaped off and landed on Superboy's. It's horns glowed, and all traces of feeling left his face. "See, you're not a real boy. You're a weapon. You belong to me. Well...to Cadmus, same thing! Now get back to your pod!"

Superboy turned, his face void of emotion, and walked out without another word. Desmond turned to his assistant and nodded, and she flipped a switch on the control panel. My eyes widened,

"Wait –" Needles shot out from the arms that appeared out of nowhere and attached themselves to my chest. The sizzle of electricity was my only warning before my body was suddenly filled with excruciating pain. A loud scream erupted from my throat – enough to do damage to eardrums, but not to break glass – as it felt like every fiber in my body was being set on fire. I don't know how long we stayed like that – it felt like hours – before suddenly everything stopped. I looked out of the pod and saw Superboy standing there, holding the door above his head.

"He came back," I muttered to myself, suddenly overwhelmed with happiness as he threw the door to the side and shoved the scientists and Guardian away when they came at him. They flew away and landed on the floor, unconscious, at least ten feet from where he was standing. Well, he's certainly got super strength, if that wasn't evident before.

"Don't tell me what to do," Superboy growled at Desmond's limp form

"Are you gonna help us or fry us?" KF asked as Superboy stopped in front of us.

Superboy's eyes narrowed and he stared at Kid for a moment, before he smirked, "Huh, I don't seem to have heat vision so helping is my only option."

I snorted, before Robin broke free of his bonds and leaped out of the pod, landing gracefully in front of Superboy. "Ugh, finally," he muttered, rubbing his wrists. "Lucky Batman isn't here; he'd have my head for taking so long."

KF scoffed. "Seriously? That's what you're worried about? The whole League will have our heads after tonight!"

"And you didn't think of this before we disobeyed direct orders and rushed into a burning building?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "You guys are idiots."

"I resent that!" the two chorused, and Robin turned to Superboy. "Free Aqualad and Echo, I'll get Kid Mouth."

"Don't you give me orders either," Superboy warned, and leaped onto Aqualad's pod, breaking the bonds that held his wrists. Aqualad slumped forward and gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

Superboy nodded, and within seconds he was breaking off my bonds too. I tried to hold myself up, but my arms felt like jelly and my back hurt so bad that I fell forward onto him. He held me steady as I took a breath and mustered up my strength. "You alright?" he asked, holding me at arms length.

"I'm fine." I smiled. "You came back."

"Well, yeah..." he frowned, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"If you two are finished," Robin drawled, and we jumped back from each other, blushing. Superboy picked me up and jumped down from the pod, setting me on my feet but keeping a grip on my side while I gained my bearings. Once I nodded my consent, we took off running for the door.

"You-you'll never get out of here!" Desmond called. "I'll have you back in your pods by morning!"

"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all," Robin sighed, throwing discs at each of the cases below the cloning chambers, which held our DNA...creepy. A series of explosions sounded behind us, making me flinch.

"What is with you and this whelmed thing?" KF asked, exasperatedly.

"Shut _up!_" I yelled, desperately trying to keep up with Superboy and Aqualad, who had taken the lead. "No time!"

"We are still 42 levels below ground," Aqualad called. "But if we can make it to the elevator..." We all skidded to a halt as a group of the elephant-like Genomorphs known as G-Trolls appeared in the hallway in front of us. Behind us the sacks on the wall were beginning to glow and burst open, revealing G-Elves.

"This couldn't be easy, could it?" I sighed, and took a running leap over a G-Troll, the guys following behind. Well, almost all of the guys. Superboy began to plow his way through the herd, kicking and punching each one as he went.

"Superboy! Our goal is to escape!" Aqualad said, and Superboy whirled around.

"You want escape?" he shouted, picking up an unconscious G-Troll and throwing it two oncoming ones, before following behind us as we ran towards the elevator. Aqualad ripped the door open, and we jumped into the elevator shaft. Robin and I shot grappling hooks upwards, and KF wrapped an arm around my neck. Once I got to the end of my line, we hopped off to the side just in time to see Superboy – who was carrying Aqualad – start to fall. I gasped, and Robin threw a Batarang for Aqualad to hold on to.

"Superman can fly," Superboy muttered sadly. "Why can't I fly?"

"Don't know, but it looks like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still cool," KF shrugged. I helped Superboy down and he turned to Aqualad.

"Thank you," he sighed.

"Guys!" Robin shouted as I noticed the elevator coming down at us. "This'll have to be our stop!" We jumped out of the shaft to avoid the speeding elevator. A group of Genomorphs were running at us, and we quickly ran left.

"Go left!" Superboy suddenly yelled, and we followed his orders. "Right!" I skidded to a stop with the others, noticing that we were at a dead end.

"Great directions Supey, are you trying to get us repodded?" Kid Flash accused.

"I don't understand..."

"Don't apologize, this is perfect!" Robin grinned.

And that was how we ended up crawling through the vents. Yep. Robin was first, then Aqualad, then me, Kid Flash, and Superboy bringing up the rear. I didn't really like this arrangement so much, considering I was stuck in front of the most perverted member of the team, and I could just _feel _his eyes boring into my butt. "Enjoying the view?"

"You know it, babe." We continued crawling in silence, until KF sighed again. "At this rate, we'll never get out."

Suddenly, Superboy froze. "Sh...listen?"

"Not all of us have super hearing, Supey," Robin answered. I sent out a wave, and gasped.

"They're in the vents," I whispered. "And they're coming right for us."

"Time for a detour." We kicked out another vent and jumped into the hall. Robin bent down and began to mess with his watch again. A few seconds later, he turned to us with a smirk, "I hacked the motion sensors."

"Sweet," KF praised.

"There's plenty of room between us and them now."

"And I finally got room to move!" In a flash (hardy har har), Kid burst through the door behind us and began running up the stairs, while we all tried to keep up. I was sending out waves like mad to try and locate the Genomorphs that I knew would be upon us in seconds.

"There's more behind you!" I shouted to Superboy, and he turned around and kicked the stairs out from under the Genomorphs. I froze, watching the stairwell destroy the flights below, the screeching Genomorphs coming alone with it as Superboy ran past. "_Damn_."

I felt a strong rip on my arm, and Superboy ripped me away from the scene. We ran out of the stairwell into a hallway, where red lights were flashing and sirens were going off, to see KF sitting on the floor and rubbing his head. I deduced that he hit the wall, and smirked to myself despite the situation at hand.

"We're cut of from the street," Aqualad said.

"My head hadn't noticed," the speedster winced, before leaping to his feet. Aqualad and Superboy tried pulling the doors apart, but to no avail. I desperately looked around, and noticed a door to our right just as G-Trolls began to appear behind us.

"This way!" Robin called, obviously seeing what I had, and he kicked the door open...only to come face to face with an army of Genomorphs and Guardian. Crap.

A wave of telepathic energy came from the G-Gnomes, and I suddenly felt dizzy and dropped to the floor in front of Superboy, who had fallen to his knees. I was going in and out of consciousness, and I couldn't hear or see anything, but I wasn't out yet. I felt Superboy stir beside me, and tried to open my eyes. He was looking down at me and the others for a moment, before turning back to the creepy man with horns. "I chose...freedom."

We all stood as Guardian placed a hand to his head and closed his eyes. "It feels like...fog lifting." There was no G-Gnome on his shoulder. It seemed the creepy man had told it to get off, and was controlling the entire army of Genomorphs.

"Guardian?" Aqualad asked tentatively.

"Go," he said. "I'll deal with Desmond."

"I think not," a voice growled, and the swarm of Genomorphs parted like the red sea to reveal a maddened looking Desmond. He held up a vile and and gave us all a glare. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus."

Drinking the vile, he fell to his knees, and suddenly began to morph in front of our eyes. His skin tore and muscles grew under dark grey skin, and he doubled in size. There were cuts all over his deformed body, and a saggy piece of skin was hanging over his head and neck. He roared at us, and a devious smirk spread across his flat face. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

"Stay back!" Guardian ordered, running at Desmond – or Blockbuster, I suppose – only to be swatted away like a fly. He sailed through the air and hit the wall, falling unconscious.

Superboy charged forward with a growl, and succeeded in landing a few hard blows on Desmond, who was fighting back with the same vigor. He jumped at the Clone, and they went through the roof.

"Okay, that's one way to bust through the ceiling," Robin mused, grabbing KF's arm and grappling up behind them. I did the same for Aqualad.

"I doubt he's planning anything anymore," he stated as we watched the two fight. Desmond picked up Superboy and threw him into Aqualad, and they skidded across the floor. KF and Robin rushed to help him as Desmond turned on me. I blasted him with my Sonic Scream, and he flew backwards, but in seconds was up on his feet again and charging at me. I skittered to the side as KF tried to kick his feet out from under him. The other three ran forward, and Blockbuster backed up, tripping over KF's back.

"Learned that one in kindergarten," he smirked. Robin leapt up and threw more disks at him, but they bounced off harmlessly. Desmond jumped and met Superboy in the air, slamming him into a pillar, which cracked under the pressure. He hit him again, and Aqualad wrapped a water whip around his arm, before going to hit him with a mace. Blockbuster grabbed his arm and threw him to the floor

"Plug your ears!" I ordered, before running forward and releasing a wail meant to incapacitate him. It had little effect, but he did release Superboy and grab at the sides of his head where his ears would be. I took advantage of the distraction and delivered a roundhouse kick to his jaw, but he came out of his reverie and grabbed my leg, whipping me around and throwing me into Superboy. We soared through the air and he hit a pillar, taking most of the blow with his back, and both of us fell forward, a large chunk of concrete landing on top of us. I winced, and tried to get up, but I was pinned by an immobile Superboy and tons of rubble.

KF was thrown into Aqualad, and they both hit the wall. Desmond rammed into the Atlantean, and they crashed through another pillar. I finally succeeded in freeing myself, racing over to Robin just as he shouted, "Of course!"

"Wha-" I looked at the map projecting in front of his face, and noticed it was highlighting the pillars. "Oh! KF, get over here!"

Robin explained the plan, and he turned to me and KF. "Got it?"

"Got it!" we chorused, and he ran forward while I hung back, poised to strike. KF jumped up, intending to punch Desmond in the face, but only succeeded in tumbling to the ground, with handful of his saggy skin. He paused, and smirked, waving the skin around. "I got your nose!"

Blockbuster roared, dropping Superboy, and ran after the speedster. "Are you alright?" I asked Aqualad and the clone as they stood up, wincing. They nodded, and Robin ran over, displaying the map.

"Superboy, Aqualad." they looked at the map and recognition flowed onto their faces. "This one, and that one," he pointed to the two pillars. "Echo, help KF distract him."

Kid Flash was currently stumbling around with Blockbuster stomping after him. I ran full speed toward his back and latched on, making him roar. "What's that, ugly? Can't understand you!" I shouted in his ear-hole (_that's_ not weird), and he rammed me into a pillar, weakening it. Unfortunately, it hurt like a mother when I hit my head, and I lost my grip on his back, seeing stars.

Once my vision returned, I hopped back up to my feet in time to see Robin draw an x with chalk on the ground. Aqualad spilled water everywhere, and KF skidded across it, stopping where the X was placed. Blockbuster lumbered after him, and Superboy landed a blow to his face, making him stumble. I pushed him back with a scream, and he fell over where KF just was. Aqualad's eel tattoos glowed, and he electrocuted the water the monster was sitting in. Desmond roared in pain as he stood up, electricity crackling all over his body.

"Move!" Robin shouted, and we all sprinted out of the room as the ceiling caved in. Superboy grabbed me by the waist while I pulled on KF's arm, and the clone threw his body over us just as everything started to fall at once, shielding us from the rubble. The ground shook and I shut my eyes as dirt flew into them and the world went dark.

Once everything stopped moving, Superboy reached up and lifted a large concrete slab that used to be a wall off of us, and helped me stand. I looked around, and, indeed, the entire building lay in ruins around us. Aqualad rubbed the back of his neck and gave us a surprised look. "We...we did it."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Robin asked, and gave KF a high-five. A crack was heard and they winced in unison, holding their wounds. Superboy followed me over to where Blockbuster lay, unconscious, under a giant pile of rubble. My eyes wandered away and I noticed that it was a full moon, and tugged on Superboy's arm.

"Look, the moon," I smiled, gesturing to the bright orb above us. He stared at it, wide eyed in amazement, when suddenly a tiny figure appeared, getting closer. I almost groaned when I realized who it was. Superman. I was hoping I could avoid punishment for another ten minutes.

"And Superman," Wally added. "Do we keep our promises or what?"

Superman landed, along with Zatara, Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel, and Red Tornado, aka the League members that could fly. The rest of them will undoubtedly be here soon. Sure enough, Captain Atom, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern landed, behind us along with the – John Stewart – Green Lantern, who had created a platform for Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Aquaman to stand on. And boy did they all look _pissed._

Superboy began to walk towards Superman, who's eyes narrowed. The clone held up the torn part of his solar suit, revealing the S on his chest, and Man of Steel's eyes to widen the size of saucers.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman asked, appearing behind Superman's shoulder.

"He doesn't like being called an it," Wally muttered to him in a sing-song voice.

Superboy scowled, as this was obviously not the reaction he was going for, and announced loudly, "I am Superman's clone."

The group was silent until Batman narrowed his eyes and fixed us all with the traditional 'Batglare.' "Start talking."

Robin and KF did most of the explaining and reenacting, with Aqualad and I only interjecting to correct certain parts or explain something that they hadn't been clear on (as whooshing noises and the occasional interjection of 'BAM!' did not get the job done well).

Superboy remained silent for a long time afterwards, and I followed his gaze toward Superman, who was talking to Manhunter and Wonder Woman. Manhunter touched his arm, and he turned to stare at Superboy, who looked away sheepishly. The Man of Steel sighed and flew over to his clone. "We'll, uh, we'll figure something out for you. The League will, I mean." I scowled. That was the best he could do? "For now...I better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away." He flew off, leaving a dejected Superboy in his wake.

_Coward. _I reached forward and touched Superboy's arm as he turned back to face me with a frown. Poor guy – he looked like a kicked puppy, for crying out loud. Can you blame me for wanting to comfort him?

"Cadmus will be investigated – all 52 levels." Batman said, walking forward with Flash, Aquaman, and Black Canary, who was giving me 'the look.' I hate the look. "But let's make one thing clear –"

"You should've called," Flash interrupted, and Batman glared at him.

"And results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives."

"Needless to say," Canary frowned. "You will not be doing this again."

We all shared a look, and Aqualad stepped forward. "I am sorry, but we will."

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman ordered.

"Apologies my king, but no." Aquaman looked shocked, but I was incredibly pleased. (Stick it to the man, Aqualad!) "We did good work here tonight – the work you trained us to do. Together, on our own we forged something powerful, important."

I crossed my arms and stared at our mentors. "If this is about your treatment at the hall, the four of you –" Flash began.

"The five of us," KF corrected. "And it's not."

"We're ready to use what you taught us. Or why teach us at all?" Robin questioned, and the four of them shared a look.

"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy growled. "Either get on board or get out of the way."

"Couldn't have set it better than myself," I agreed, ignoring Black Canary's surprised look. This felt right, us as a team, and I wasn't about to let this chance go. I've done something more impactful today than I have my entire four years of being her partner, or sidekick, and that was too good to give up.

Batman glared, but I could practically see the gears turning in his head. "I see...You are dismissed. We'll talk about this at a later date. Robin." He turned around and walked off, Robin following behind, giving us a wave. After giving the others a hug – it was really awkward with Superboy, but I'm sure it'll get better eventually– I sighed and walked towards Canary, who was still giving me 'the look.'

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" I asked as we began to walk away from the others.

"I'm not mad," she sighed, and reached out to grab my shoulder, stopping me from walking. "Just a little disappointed. Why didn't you call?"

"In all fairness, I did call, right before we found Superboy."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes (I'm glad I could finally make her show another expression other than disappointment). "I meant before you followed Dubbilex down the elevator shaft."

"You guys were treating us like kids," I reasoned softly. "We wanted to prove we could do this on our own. And we did."

"I could see that," she smiled. Dinah couldn't stay mad at me for too long. After all, I was her mini-me. And have you seen my face? I'm adorable! "You guys did do a good job, though."

I beamed, feeling a sudden weight lift off my shoulders at her compliment. Good to know she hasn't lost all hope in me. "Thanks...Does this mean you approve of us as a team?"

Canary frowned. "I suppose it does." I did an internal victory dance, but my party was cut short when Dinah turned to me with a sly grin. "But you're still grounded for three weeks."

"Aw, come on!"

Four days after the incident, the five of us stood in front of our mentors while Batman spoke. We were in a place known as 'The Cave,' which was located inside a mountain in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Canary told me that it was where the League's headquarters used to be before it was compromised to the Joker, who had undoubtedly told all his friends about it, and they were forced to move to the Watchtower. I wonder what made them think 'giant satellite orbiting the earth' when they looked for a new HQ. Huh.

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League," Batman explained. Dinah already told me that, Batsy. "We're calling it into service again. Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you will do it on League terms." He turned to face us, eyes narrowed per usual. "Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training." My mouth dropped open; she certainly didn't tell me_ that_! "I will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Robin asked.

"Yes, but covert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," the Flash grinned, and gestured to himself. "There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests."

"Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter. Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly," Aquaman explained.

"The six of you will be that team."

Robin smirked. "Cool!...Wait, six?"

I turned around and saw Martian Manhunter walk in with a girl around the same age as me, with green skin and red hair, an interesting combination. "This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian."

"Hi," she greeted sheepishly, and I gave her an assuring smile, moving from my place in between Superboy and Aqualad to stand in front of her.

"Hey, I'm Echo," I smiled, offering her my hand. "It's nice to have another girl on the team. I have a feeling the copious amounts of testosterone are going to be pretty overwhelming." _Or whelming, _I thought with a smirk.

"I'm liking this gig more and more every minute," I heard KF mutter to Robin. "I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad – it's cool if you forget their names."

Megan obviously didn't get it, and simply smiled. "I am honored to be included."

The boys joined me, and I turned to see Superboy standing there awkwardly. I was just about to go over and ask him to join us, but Robin beat me to it. "Hey, Superboy, come meet Miss M!"

Superboy came to stand beside me, and Megan blushed as her shirt suddenly changed from white to black, with a red X. "I like your T-shirt." She was flirting with him, wasn't she? Isn't that cute?

Robin elbowed Superboy with a grin, and KF leaned on his shoulder. I beamed at them all as Aqualad announced proudly,

"Today is the day."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'd just like to point out that this is **_**not **_**a Superboy/OC fic, because some of you were wondering :) (Actually, it was originally one, but then I changed once my love affair with Roy started – not to mention how many votes he got on quizilla. I mean, **_**damn **_**there was a lot!****) ****I support Supermartian like a freak...even if it is really awkward and ill-timed. No, the reason Echo and Superboy had those 'moments' last chapter were basically because she was trying to be nice to him. You know, get on his good side so a, he doesn't attempt to crush her again, and b, she felt really sorry for him. When I first watched the episode, before Black Canary playing a role in his life, I felt that at least **_**someone **_**needed to be there for him, and when I made Echo I wanted her to be that person. Like mother, like daughter, huh?**

**Anywho, if I reach 20 reviews by the end of today, then the next chapter will be up tomorrow. Sounds good, right?**

**Oh, and be prepared, cuz this chapter's got plenty o' Roy, well, I wouldn't really call it loving. You'll see what I mean. :)**

_Oh, and I forgot to mention: Echo's real name is _**Tessa Flynn**_, which is revealed in this chapter :)_

"Pick up...pick up, please," I muttered, cell phone pressed to my ear as I paced the length of my room. It was around ten at night, and Dinah was out doing hero work, leaving me alone at our apartment in Star City. I was still grounded, unfortunately, since it was only nine days after our team got together officially, and so we hadn't been on any missions, most likely as a form of punishment for being 'reckless.'

Canary had suspended me from going anywhere with her as part of my cruel and unusual punishment. I mean, 'you can't go out and fight bad guys with me because you went and fought bad guys without me.' How is that fair? Anyways, I was getting restless, and went snooping. That led me to finding out that a metahuman named Brick was going to be transporting weapons, and I figured I should jump in since nobody else would. I, while I may be impulsive and annoying, was not an idiot by any means, and I knew that I couldn't just waltz in there and take down this guy on my own, so I called the only person I could think of;

Roy.

Yes, yes, scold me for being stupid because we obviously did not end things on a good note the last time we spoke to each other, but I certainly did not want to have to awkwardly avoid him for the rest of my life. That would just be a pain in the ass. Speaking of pains in the ass...

"_Hello?" _I froze at the sound of his voice, and all the things I planned on saying to him suddenly left my brain, leaving me gaping like a fish out of water. _"Hello?"_

"Roy?" Of course it's Roy, you idiot.

"_Tessa? Why are you calling me?" _Oh god, he sounded mad. Maybe this is a bad idea, maybe I should...Jesus, pull yourself together Flynn! You're Echo, dammit, you will not be intimidated by a single question.

"Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry for yelling at you the other day," I sighed. My pride was significantly wounded at being the one to apologize, but it had to be done. "I was out of line and you were right, we were being treated like sidekicks in there."

..._"Alright."_

What did he just say? "That's it?" I blurted out. "_Alright?_"

"_Well, what did you want me to say?"_ What _did_ I want him to say?

"I dunno...I was hoping you would apologize for being a swirling vortex of teenage angst," I frowned, plopping down in my desk chair and spinning around.

"_I'm not going to apologize," _he growled.

"Of course you aren't," I sighed. "Look, I didn't call you just to argue. I just found out that Brick – you know the creepy, muscular, red guy? – is going to be transporting weapons down by the docks tonight, and I planned on stopping them. Being the wonderful person that I am, I was wondering if you wanted to join me on this little escapade."

He paused, and I waited with bated breath for his answer._ "...Yeah, I'll come."_ I sighed in relief. _"You sound relieved,"_ his voice took on a teasing tone, and I let a smile spread over my face.

"Ah, there's the Roy that's not an ass!" I exclaimed happily. "I'll meet you down by Pier 6 at eleven, okay?"

Roy chuckled. _"See you there." _

After I hung up, I went into Dinah's room and opened up her closet. I brushed past the tons of clothes until I reached a box titled 'Junk.' Scoffing, I opened the top and pulled out my costume, before heading off to my room to change. She thought she was being so clever, hiding it in a place that she thought I wouldn't look if I decided to disobey her order to stay inside the house. Lucky for me (and unlucky for her) I was much smarter than that. It was like she _wanted_ me to find my suit.

After I yanked on my leotard/bustier thing on over my tights and grabbed my jacket, I realized that I had about an hour to get to Pier 6...which was about twenty minutes from my house by my grappling gun. Why bother going now? Roy will undoubtedly be 'fashionably late' like always, so I made the decision to sit down on the couch and watch the news.

"_And over to you, Betty!" the cheery news anchor beamed at the camera, and it switched to an image of a very fake blonde woman standing in front of the camera, microphone in front of her bright red lips._

"_Thanks John!" she grinned. "The Flash and his sidekick Flash-Boy –"_

"_KID FLASH!" Wally shouted, running past them. "And I'm his partner!"_

"_Right, his _partner _Kid Flash, have just defeated Captain Cold yet again here in Central City, and as you can see they are cleaning up the damage as we speak. Let's see if we can get an interview. Mr. Flash!"_

"_Here," Barry shoved Kid in front of the press. "Talk to him."_

_The lady and Kid both seemed shocked, but she shoved the mich in his face anyways. "So, Kid Flash, how did you do it?"_

"_Well, the Flash and I simply –" He paused as the air was filled with an obnoxious buzzing along with the wonderful musical stylings of Right Said Fred, and he blanched._

"I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want_  
><em>So tell me what you want, what you really really want_ –"_

"_I gotta take this!" he shouted, horrified, and sped off. "Tessa!"_

"_Um, what just happened?" the camera man asked as they both stared after the yellow and red blur._

"_I'm not sure," Betsy answered. "Uh, back to you, John."_

I smirked as I watched the situation unfold, and waited for Kid to answer the phone. "Tessa! Why are you calling me?"

"Hey Wally!" I greeted happily. "You know, that seems to be the greeting of the day. It's like you guys don't want to talk to me or something..."

"_Spice girls, really?"_

"Hey, it was either that or _I'm Too Sexy, _Wallace."

"_You were watching the news, weren't you?" _he deadpanned.

"Yep! Well, I didn't just call to humiliate you, I'll have you know. I just wanted to tell you that I've got Roy under my thumb; we're going down to pier six in an hour to stop Brick's weapon shipment. I figured you would want to call the boys and beg on your knees for him to join the team."

He sighed._"How desperate do you think I am?"_

"Very desperate, KF," I answered truthfully.

"_...You would be correct in that assumption."_

"Good! Just call Aqualad and Rob, give your parents the slip, and then hide in the shadows for a while until we actually start moving in. Don't mess anything up."

"_Why do you always assume I'm going to fuck something up?"_ he asked.

"It's inevitable. See you then." I hung up, feeling quite proud of myself, and grinned deviously. "The trap is set."

* * *

><p>"Think you can handle Brick?" I hissed to Roy – who told me his name was Red Arrow now (I was incredibly amused at that, but kept my mouth shut). We were currently positioned up on the rafters, hidden by the shadows, and were watching the scene below us. There were three moving trucks parked out on the pavement, and a group of ghetto-esque lackeys were getting out of them. Brick got out of the last one, and stood in the middle of the pier as his men began to go to work.<p>

"Duh," he snorted, and I knew he had just rolled his eyes at me. "Think you can handle his men?"

"Those ghetto fools?" I scoffed. "Just watch me." I ran across the rafters and leapt onto another roof, flipping off of it and onto the ground behind the two that had just opened the back of a case that was lowered by a crane. I aimed a swift blow to one's temple, successfully knocking him out. The other turned and tried to punch me, but I dodged it and kicked his gut, and he doubled over. Not giving him time to recover, I aimed my hand upwards towards his face, and heard the sickening crunch that told me his nose was broken. I knew I was taking this too far, but I figured that I should have a little fun after being cooped up all the time, and knocked the other one unconscious, and he fell into a box they had just pulled down. It toppled over on it's side, and a very expensive looking gun skittered across the pavement into Brick's awaiting hands. I froze when he turned it on me, glaring.

"Well, well well, what do we have here?" he smirked. "Baby Canary, I don't appreciate you taking out my men." Brick was just about to shoot, but an arrow hit his back, creating an explosion made him stumble. He whirled around and pointed the gun at Roy, who was standing up on the rafters. "You again! I'm starting to get insulted Green Arrow's not messing up my operations personally."

Roy dodged the beams of energy that Brick fired at him, running across the rafter and doing a flip, shooting an arrow into the barrel of the gun and exploding it. The explosion tore Brick's suit, leaving it in tatters around his lump red skin. "Do you know what I pay for a suit in my size?" he roared, and turned to the other goons that were watching the exchange – and me. "Scorch the earth, boys."

I ran at the group, intent on pummeling them, when KF suddenly ran out in between them, knocking two of them out. Robin swooped overhead and hit the other two with Batarangs, his eerie signature laugh echoing throughout the docks. Aqualad water whipped two more into the side of the truck, and as one tried to get up, I kicked him in the temple, making him slump back down. "Seriously? I totally had that!" I scowled, running after him.

"Were you not the one that told KF to call Robin and I?" he asked, slicing threw a giant slab of concrete that was about to hit Roy.

"What?" Roy glared, looking pissed at me.

"Nothing!" I squeaked. "He said nothing!"

"The cave is perfect, it has everything the team will need," Aqualad stated, turning to Roy, who was still scowling.

"– For covert missions!" Robin added and landed behind us. "You know, spy stuff."

"And wait 'till you meet Superboy and Miss Martian – but I saw her first!" Of course Wally would say that.

"Am I the only one paying attention?" I asked, crouched down at the edge of the platform. Brick ripped up more concrete and threw it at us, and I threw it back at him with a sonic scream. The others leapt into action. Roy shot two more explosive arrows at his chest, who seemed pretty unfazed by them.

Brick chuckled. "Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a man's job."

"Excuse me?" I shrieked, elbowing a guy who tried to come up behind me in the face. He fell to the ground, clutching his nose. KF stared at me, wide eyed, and I shrugged.

"Go ahead," Brick grinned, opening his arms to Roy, who had docked another arrow. I ran forward and grappled up onto the platform just as the arrow exploded, encasing him in a mountain of reddish foam. Strangled shouts came from him as his head disappeared under it, and then he stopped moving altogether.

"High density polyurethane foam," Kid grinned, appearing beside me. "Nice."

"So Speedy, you in?" Robin asked as we began to walk away. It was done, and the police were already on their way to get Brick and his unconscious guys carted off to jail.

I frowned as Speedy turned to look at him. This was not one of my best ideas. "Pass. I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a clubhouse hangout with the other kids. Your Junior Justice League is a joke; something to keep you busy and in your place," Roy growled, and began to walk into the shadows. "I don't want any part of it."

I turned and gave the guys a sad smile. "I'll see you guys later." They nodded, and I jogged to catch up with him. "Roy Harper!" I shouted, grabbing his shoulder. He whirled around and glared at me.

"What?" he spat venomously.

"Don't you dare start with me!" I warned, pointing a finger at his chest. "Those guys are your friends, are they not? And you're just standing there and treating them like dirt! All they want is to give you a chance to be a part of something that you always talked so adamantly about, and you just brush them off! I just don't understand!"

"I'm not going to let the League walk all over me anymore –"

"They weren't walking all over you before!" I screeched, throwing up my hands. "Your pride is just too big for you to admit you made a mistake and ask for forgiveness."

"It's not the only mistake I've made recently," he mumbled under his breath, looking away from me. My eyes widened and the words I was about to scream at him died in my throat, which constricted as if I was going to cry. I wasn't going to cry, because I was way too pissed to feel any other emotion.

"What did you just say?" I hissed.

He faltered. "I..."

But I had heard enough already. I was done with this; I was done trying. "That's it, I'm leaving!"

"Wait, where are you going?" he called, running after me and grabbing my arm. I wrenched it out of his grasp and kept going.

"Home," I answered shortly.

"You can't walk that far alone, it's twenty blocks from here!"

"Don't act like you fucking care!" I growled. "The only thing you care about is yourself."

He stopped trying to run after me, and I snuck a look over my shoulder to see him standing there, frozen and staring at the place I was just standing. His face was void of any emotion, but I could tell that if he took off his mask his eyes would tell me everything, but he didn't, and I was pretty sure I didn't want to know. I didn't want to feel guilty for making him realize the truth.

Feeling angry tears prick my eyes, I turned away and began to run towards my house, hopefully before Dinah got back. But knowing my luck, which proved to be quite awful after tonight's events, she would be home, and angry. But that was the least of my worries. As far as I knew, Roy and I weren't friends anymore, and it left horrible feeling in my chest, like I had just lost a loved one. I would have to get over it though, because I wasn't going to apologize, not when I had nothing to apologize for.

I climbed the fire escape to our apartment and wrenched open the window, praying that Dinah wouldn't be home. I quietly slipped inside and looked around the dark room, looking for any signs of life; there were none. Sighing in relief, I closed the window behind me and turned back around, only to have the lights turn on. There stood Dinah in all her robed glory, holding a coffee mug and fixing me with an amused look. "So, did you have fun?" she asked lazily, sipping from her mug. I winced, shaking my head. "Oh, that's too bad. But you're still grounded for another week."

_Oh come on! _"We'll talk about this in the morning," Dinah sighed. "Just go to bed."

I hung my head and trudged past her to my room, even though I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I love you guys, seriously. Reaching 20 reviews had me bouncing up and down on my chair this morning. My friends are probably sick of hearing me brag about you guys. I'm such a review whore, too, and I apologize for demanding reviews last chapter. This time around, I'm not sure how long chapter 6 is gonna take, since I just started working on #8. Anyways, here is chapter 5, also known as the beginning half of episode 3. Enjoy and review! :D**

Roy may have been wrong about a lot of things, but he was right about one thing; The Cave did, in fact, act as a babysitting center for us, considering Canary dumped me off there when she left for work in fear that I would go out again by myself and get into trouble like I did the night before. Her words, not mine, considering I didn't even get in trouble. Ugh.

"_Recognized; Echo, B05." _

"Hi Echo!" Megan greeted, flying over to me as I walked into the Cave. I smiled at her and slung my backpack over my shoulder, before following her into the common room, where Superboy was sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV.

"Uh, hey Superboy," I grinned uneasily. "Do you want me to turn that on for you?"

He shrugged, "No." Well, alright then.

"Superboy and I have been so bored these past couple days. Aqualad and the others visit often, but we don't have cable or anything else to do..." Megan explained, sighing.

"We have a fully stocked kitchen, right?" I asked, walking in to aforementioned kitchen.

"Yeah..."

I opened up the fridge and started pulling out eggs and butter. "Do you want to make cookies?"

"Hello Megan!" she giggled, slapping her forehead. I rose an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Martians were a strange race. "Of course I want to make cookies! Good idea, Echo!"

"You can call me Tess, just about everyone else does," I smiled after I told her what ingredients to pull out. "Tessa Flynn is my real name."

"Oh! Well in that case, you can call me by my name, too. It's M'gann M'orzz." She frowned, "Do you think I should have an earth name too, Tess?"

I thought about this for a moment, and realized that eventually, she and Superboy would eventually have to go out and go to school like the rest of us, and she couldn't exactly introduce herself with her very alien-esque name. "Yeah...you and Superboy should definitely have earth names eventually, M'gann...Wait, your name sounds kinda like Megan, which is a fairly popular name, so why don't you go with that? And your last name could be Morse."

"That's perfect!" she gasped, pulling me into a hug. I froze at the sudden contact. "Sorry."

"'S okay." I reached into my backpack and pulled out a cookbook. Inside, since I figured I would be spending a lot of time at the Cave now that Canary doesn't trust me at all, I also had my xbox and four controllers, along with posters and stuff to decorate my room with, because it's plain-ness was bugging me. Opening the cookbook, I skimmed a couple of pages until the stray sheet of paper stuck out. It was a cookie recipe from a cooking show that I had written down for a bake sale to support my gymnastics team a year ago. "Here we are. Okay, we need two cups of flour...you know what, make it four, Wally's gonna piss himself when he's sees these cookies and they'll be gone in a second."

"Why?" Megan asked, surprise evident on her face. I suppose I could've phrased that better...

"He claims to have a fast metabolism," I explained, cracking a couple of eggs and putting them in the mixing bowl after I pre-heated the oven. "But he's really just a pig."

She giggled and poured oil in after I was finished. "He would seem like the type," she mused. Oh, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, I could tell.

"What are you making?" a voice said over my shoulder, and I jumped, whirling around and placing a hand over my chest.

"Jesus, Superboy! Don't scare me like that!" I gasped, glaring at the clone. He smirked for a moment, but it was hardly noticeable, and asked his question again. "For your information, we are making cookies."

"Cookies?" he repeated.

"Did Cadmus not give you any information about cookies?" Megan asked timidly, and he glared at her.

"They did," he growled, and she blushed, then he turned back to me. "I wanted to know why you were making them."

"We're bored," I whined. He rolled his eyes. "You wanna help us make them?"

"No."

"Then get out of my kitchen!"

Supey scowled, obviously not finding this nearly as amusing as I was. Jeez, it was a joke, take a chill pill. "Don't tell me what to do," he warned, but sulked back to the couch and actually turned the TV _on. _He channel surfed until he reached a reality TV show with a bunch of fake-baked people arguing in Jersey accents, making me roll my eyes. Of _course_ the first show he finds is Jersey Shore.

"He's mad at me," Megan sighed, beginning to scoop form balls of dough with her telekinesis and dropping them on to a pan.

"Superboy is Superboy, he's not really mad at you," I assured her while she slid the pan into the oven. "Cadmus may have force fed him information, but one thing they didn't teach him was how to be social. He's just...he doesn't control his anger. And it doesn't really help that he is the clone of one of the most socially awkward superheroes of all time."

She smiled. "Thanks, Tess."

"No problem." I set the timer just as the computer chimed in, in it's robotic woman's voice.

"_Recognized: Aqualad, B02."_

"Why don't you and Superboy go and meet Aqualad? I'll clean up the rest of this mess and meet you there," I offered and Megan thanked me, before flying off with Superboy at her heels. What? Did somebody actually take orders for once? Miracles happen every day, you know.

Five minutes later, after I washed the bowl and spoon and had put away the leftover ingredients, I made my way into the training area, where the others were standing, looking at a map that was projected from the computer. "Hey Kaldur," I greeted, and he smiled at me briefly and nodded his head. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're waiting for Red Tornado to get here so we can ask him if he has any missions for us," Megan explained, and I nodded.

"Recognized: Robin, B01; Kid Flash: B03," the computer announced as the two boys teleported in and ran over to us.

"Did you ask him?" Robin asked eagerly.

Kid Flash was wearing an excited expression similar to his friend. "What did he say?"

"Nice to see you too," I drawled, rolling my eyes.

"He's arriving now," Aqualad stated.

"Then what are we waiting for?" KF grinned, before running off with Robin following behind. Aqualad and Megan walked calmly after them.

I turned to Superboy. "Explain to me again why we are bothering to intercept him outside of the cave?"

He shrugged. "Beats me."

We arrived in time to see Red Tornado fly down on a – you guessed it – Red Tornado. The wind whipped my hair, which I decided to tie up today, around my face, and I spit out a few strands when they caught in my mouth.

"Red Tornado!" Wally shouted, jumping up and down and raising his hand.

"Greetings," Red Tornado said in his robotic monotone voice. "Is there a reason you've intercepted me outside the cave?"

"We hoped you have a mission for us," Aqualad explained.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility."

"But it's been over a week and nothing –" Robin began, but Tornado held up a hand to silence him.

"You will be tested soon enough," he stated cryptically. I hate it when adults do that. "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company." I honestly don't think it's possible to enjoy Wally's company for too long, but I wisely chose to keep my mouth shut on that matter.

Aqualad frowned, sharing a look with all of us. "This team is not a social club." Damn right it's not.

"No, but I am told social interaction is an important team building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the cave." That was all he had to say on the matter, obviously, because he simply walked through our group and into the cave without another word.

"Keep busy," Kid muttered angrily.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin asked.

"Oh!" Megan gasped. "I'll find out." She turned and narrowed her eyes at Tornado's retreating back, attempting to read his mind, before sighing. "Sorry, I forgot he's a machine – inorganic. I cannot read his mind."

"Nice try though," Wally praised. "So...you wanna know what I'm thinking right now?"

"We all know what your thinking now!" Robin growled, elbowing the redhead, who winced.

"And now we tour the clubhouse," Aqualad said bitterly, and I almost winced at the reference to Roy's words last night. We hadn't talked since then – it's not like I expected for him to show up at my door and beg for forgiveness, but a girl could dream – but I didn't feel bad about what I said. He deserved what he got, and he needed to hear them from someone, and it just had to be me. If he comes to terms with it, it's his decision.

"Well...Superboy and I live here, we can play tour guides," Megan said, and we all turned to look at Superboy, who scowled.

"Don't look at me."

"We wont." KF turned to Megan and got up in her face, giving her a suggestive look. "A private tour sounds much more fun." I made a face, muttering an 'ew' under my breath at this.

"Cheh!" Robin scoffed. "She never said private!" _Looks like the little birdy is jealous_, I mused, and hid my smirk. Leave it to Kid and Rob to fight over the naive alien girl with _green skin – _not judging, of course, but I'm just saying. Well, I suppose if you seem to repel girls like Wally, the alien is the only chance you've got. And Robin is...well, Robin. Who knows what goes on in his devious mind?

"Team building," Aqualad said. "We'll all go."

Megan shot him a relieved look before leading us to the entrance of the cave. I saw Robin shove KF out of the way, and tried to fight back the laughter that bubbled in my throat. "So...this would be our front door..."

"And this would be the back." Megan had led us onto a platform jutting off the side of the mountain. It was above all of the trees and looked out over the ocean, which was blindingly bright because of the sun. I gasped at the beauty of it all, and automatically knew I would be spending a lot of time up here. "The Cave is actually the entire mountain," she explained as we went back inside towards the entrance from the water, which Aqualad usually took to get in.

"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," Wally added.

"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy asked.

"The cave's secret location was...compromised," I answered.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense."

I frowned. Jesus, Supey, why do you have to be so mean?

Megan gasped. "If the villains know of the cave, then we must be on constant alert!"

Robin grabbed her hand and held it in between his – considerably smaller – ones. "The bad guys know we know they know about this place so they would never think to look in –" Wally pulled their hands apart, looking extremely jealous (ha ha), and clarified, while I snorted at Rob's angry expression.

"He means we're hiding in plain sight."

"Oh. That's much...clearer," she frowned, still looking confused.

Superboy sniffed (his super senses are tingling!) and announced, "I smell smoke."

Megan and I gasped. "Our cookies!" she flew off and I sprinted after her. Skidding to a stop in the kitchen, I caught sight of the cookies that she pulled out of the oven with her telekinesis and groaned. They were black and smoking, and altogether basically looked like hockey pucks. Thank god we didn't use all of the batter.

"We were trying out Granny Jones' recipe from episode seventeen of –" my eyes widened, and I made a gesture that told her to shut up, and she blushed. "Heh, nevermind."

"I bet they would've tasted great," Robin shrugged, grinning at KF, who was stuffing his face with the practically inedible cookies. "He doesn't seem to mind."

Wally froze. "I have a serious metabolism."

"Right..." I drawled, rolling my eyes at him as he shot me an offended look.

"We'll...make more?" Megan suggested nervously.

"It was sweet of you to make any," Kaldur said. I smiled my thanks as Megan sighed,

"Thanks Aqualad."

"We're off duty; call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

"And I'm Tessa," I grinned, before adding. "But I'm pretty sure most of you know that already. You can all call me Tess if you want."

"I'm Wally," KF sighed dreamily (...can't believe I just used that adverb). "See I already trust you with my secret ID, unlike Mr. Dark Glasses over here," he gestured to Robin, who was scowling at him with his hands on his hips. "Batman's forbidden him from telling anyone his real name."

"Mine's no secret, it's M'gann M'orzz," Megan announced. "But you can call me Megan – Tess came up with it – it's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."

Superboy stood up to walk away, hands in his pockets, but he suddenly grunted and whirled around, fixing Megan with a glare that could peel paint. "Get out of my head!" he roared. Oh, Megan, I really need to teach you more about Earth –

_What's wrong? I don't understand..._ Megan's voice was suddenly projected in each of our heads, and I doubled over and grabbed my temples. Oh my god what the hell was that? _Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically._

"M'gann, stop," Kaldur ordered, and her eyes widened. "Things are different here on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides," Wally added, gesturing to Superboy. "Cadmus' psychic G-Gnomes left a bad taste in his brain."

"I-I didn't mean to –" she stuttered, but Superboy cut her off,

"Just stay out," he growled, stalking off and sitting down on the couch angrily. I fought the urge to roll my eyes as the room went silent.

We all stared at each other for a moment, until Megan hit her forehead for the second time today. "Hello Megan! I know what we can do!" She flew off down the hallway and I looked at the others, shrugging, before following her. The Martian led us to the cave, before gasping and flying back. We had forgotten Superboy, after all.

When she reappeared with Superboy in tow, we went over to the elevator, which took us to the hangar where a strange pink ovular thing was sitting. I rose an eyebrow as she announced, "It's my Martian bioship!"

"Uh..."

"It's cute," Wally stated. "Not aerodynamic, but cute."

"It's at rest, silly!" Megan giggled. "I'll wake it."

"Oh right, the ship is sleeping, why didn't I think of that?" I muttered dryly under my breath as she waved a hand and suddenly the sphere morphed into a giant pink ship. It whirled around so the back was facing us, and the door opened up. "Whoa."

"Well, are you coming?" Megan walked inside, with me following close behind.

The inside was incredibly high tech and spacious, but there were not other seats. I was about to make a comment on it, when out of nowhere, six seats appeared out of the floor. Tentatively, I sat down in one in the front, and farthest to the left, leaving two seats open beside me, which were soon occupied by Kaldur and Superboy. Seat belts suddenly wrapped themselves around my body in an X and I went rigid. "This is so freaky..." I muttered, staring down at the seatbelt.

"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors," Megan requested, sitting in the captain's chair. Two glowing spheres came out of the floor and she placed her each of her hands on one. The doors opened and the ship started up, flying out and over the ocean below us.

My face was practically pressed against the glass in my amazement, as I watched the calm ocean below us ripple from the disturbance in the air created by the bioship. "Amazing," I breathed, and Megan pulled up from a dive and spun around before zooming off towards Happy Harbor.

"Incredible!" Robin grinned.

Wally smiled, staring at Megan. "She sure is..." he sighed, and when we all turned to look at him, he blushed. "I-I mean the ship, which like all ships is a she."

"Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth."

"Dude!" I had to shove my fist inside my mouth to stop my giggles, and Kaldur shot me a look, apparently not finding this as amusing as I did. Well, he really didn't partake in joking at others expense, so I suppose it was to be expected. Didn't mean I didn't admire him for it, at least, not really. He just needs to loosen up a little, I decided, and I would be the one to help him with it...whether he liked it or not.

The Atlantean turned to Superboy, who was staring out the window silently. "I may not have psychic powers, but I can guess what you're thinking; you overreacted and you don't know how to apologize."

Superboy looked at us out of the corner of his eye, and I leaned over Kaldur. "It's easy; just say 'sorry.'"

I could hear the three behind us muttering to each other, but I didn't say anything, choosing to watch the scenery instead. There were geese flying next to the bioship in a V, and I eagerly pressed my hands against the window as they looked over at us confusedly. I beamed at them and waved, but they flew away, leaving me pouting in my chair. Kaldur chuckled at me, and I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out at him childishly.

"Hey, how about showing us some Martian shapeshifting?" Robin suggested eagerly. Megan stood up, and we all turned our chairs to watch body morph into a female version of Robin. She twirled and posed, now a female Kid Flash.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally asked, staring at the Martian, who had turned into my exact twin, with a dreamy smile.

Robin clapped appreciatively. "Impressive, but," he paused and held up his hands. "You're not exactly going to fool anyone with those." I snorted, hard pressed to tell whether he was talking about the forms or her boobs. It was a toss up.

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder," Megan said, resuming her seat.

"And your clothes..." Aqualad trailed off, puzzled.

"They're organic, like the ship. They respond to my mental commands," she explained.

Superboy scowled, turning away and grumbled, "As long as they're the only ones." We all heard it, though, and I glared at him, he returning it easily. We were stuck in a glaring match until Wally spoke up to ease the tension.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?"

"Density shifting?" she asked, and then frowned. "No...it's a very advanced technique."

"Kid Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall," Robin grinned deviously, snickering. "When he tries it – bloody nose."

"Dude!"

I released a shrill giggle, twirling around to face the – quite scarlet – speedster. "What the hell?" I guffawed, Robin laughing along with me. Kid pouted moodily and crossed his arms, glaring out the window.

"Shut up, Tess," he grumbled. "Do I need to remind them the time you lost your voice?"

"You wouldn't," I warned, pointing a finely painted black finger at him.

"Try me."

Kaldur frowned at us. "That's enough, you two."

"Here's something I can do!" Megan brightened up immediately, and the ship suddenly turned invisible on the outside. "Camouflage mode."

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian. An emergency alert has been triggered at Happy Harbor power plant," Tornado's monotonous voice announced throughout the ship. "I suggest you investigate, I'm sending coordinates."

"Received. Adjusting coordinates."

"Field trip!" I called, waving my hands in the air. I was in a decidedly better mood now that I got to make fun of Wallace.

Robin scoffed, "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"At least it's something," I shrugged.

"Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy," Megan said, hovering over a parking lot outside the plant. "Maybe we can find out what caused the alert."

We all turned our heads as we heard a tornado roaring in the distance – whirling right toward us. Superboy frowned, "I think I know the cause."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm sick and procrastinating on my homework, so I'm posting chapter 6! Yay! Unfortunately, I'm running out of chapters to post, so I've got to kick it into gear before you'll see chapter 7 :/ Unless, of course, you guys review like, a lot...hint hint...**

We all turned in time to see a tornado flying at us, right before we were swept up in it. We were all jostled around, and I clutched my seat in an effort to keep myself from flying into the control panel in front of me. I could practically feel my brain being jostled inside my skull. Suddenly, the bioship was whipped out of the tornado and Megan steadied it, landing in the parking lot.

We all jumped out of the bottom and looked around. Robin was already running for the plant, and I followed behind him. Inside the factory was a giant robot-like figure. His body was red with a black stripe running down his chest, and he had blue tubes sticking out of his back along with a scarf that covered his mouth. _Stylish_, I thought dryly as I caught up to the younger boy. Robin launched himself at the stranger, and he formed a tornado, blowing him back into me with enough force to send us crashing to the floor.

Superboy landed beside us. "Who's your new friend?"

"Didn't catch his name," Robin began as the clone jumped away. "But he plays kinda rough!"

"My apologies," the robot-man said. "You may address me as Mr. Twister."

"Really?" I asked dryly, raising an eyebrow at him as I jumped to my feet. "Mr. Twister was what you came up with?" He spun two tornadoes that knocked us all off our feet again, but Superboy bowed his head and moved forward. I stood again, just in time to see him fly past me and hit the wall, leaving a dent.

Grumbling under my breath, I charged at Mr. Twister, doing a hand spring to avoid a tornado, and kicked him in the chest. There was a clink, and I looked at him surprised. He didn't even move! Twister chuckled and grabbed my ankle, swinging me into Superboy, who had just gotten up. Kaldur and Megan flew backwards, too, and they lay still while Twister continued to trash talk us.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero," he chuckled. "I was not, however, expecting children."

"We're not children!" Robin shouted, throwing two discs at him. One was deflected by a tornado and the other lodged itself into Twister's chest with little effect. He flicked it away.

"Objectively, you are." I pushed myself to my feet and jogged towards Robin. "Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite...disturbing."

"That's not the only thing that's disturbing, you ugly hunk of junk!" I called, scowling as the others assembled behind us.

"Well, hate to see you disturbed," Robin shouted. "Let's see if you're more turbed when we kick your can!"

I groaned. "Rob, I am _so _buying you a dictionary once this is over."

Megan threw up her hands, and used them to burst a pipe above Twister, spraying some sort of gas-like substance in his face and blinding him for a moment. Superboy jumped up and was about to bash his face in when the robot-like man created two tornadoes and shot him back. Megan flew forward, only to be hit by Superboy, and they both went tumbling. Robin and Kaldur ran at Twister from the front while I snuck up behind. They were both swept up by tornadoes as I released my sonic scream. He whirled around and threw a tornado at me, which I attempted to dodge, only to be sucked up and flung at the wall.

"Indeed," Mr. Twister remarked, turning around. "It was quite turbing, thank you."

He flew out of the plant, and we all followed him, just in time to see KF get stuck in a huge tornado. Megan lifted a hand and when the tornado cleared, he was floating in the air. "I got you Wally!" she called, dropping him.

"Thanks."

"I would've thought you all would've learned your limitations by now," Twister commented lightly.

Kaldur stepped forward. "What do you want?'"

"Isn't it obvious?" he chuckled, flying high up in the air and looking down at all of us. "I'm waiting for a real hero."

"Read his mind. Find a weakness," Kaldur ordered to Megan.

"But I thought you said I wasn't supposed to do that!"

"It's okay with the bad guys!" Robin exclaimed exasperatedly, waving his arms.

She paused, putting a hand to her head. "What? I've got nothing." She gasped, hitting her forehead. "Hello Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise!"

Somehow, that didn't seem right to me. I'm pretty sure Tornado wouldn't be that cruel to us, even if he was supposed to be acting. Something told me he wasn't a very good actor either, just saying. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course! He's inorganic – an android. And how many androids to you know that can generate tornadoes?"

"Red Tornado sent us here," Aqualad realized, angrily.

"After saying we would be tested soon enough," Robin added. "This is his test! Something to keep us busy."

"Speedy called it," Wally sighed, and I winced. "We are a joke." Kaldur made an indignant noise, punching his hand, and stalked off towards the android. We all followed, the others looking bitter. I, however, was still skeptical.

"Guys, are you sure about this?" I asked again. "There's a possibility this isn't Tornado we're dealing with."

"You heard Megan, Tess," Robin stated. "He's obviously Tornado in disguise." I wasn't convinced, but kept my mouth shut as he called out to Mr. Twister – I mean, Red Tornado. "We know who you are, and what you want!"

"So let's end this," Kaldur said.

I'm sure if the scarf wasn't covering Twister's mouth, we would see him smirking down at us as he created a giant storm formed behind him. "Consider it ended." A dark vortex swirled over his head. I gasped, taking a few steps back. That was so _not _Tornado.

"An impressive show," Kaldur continued. "But we will not indulge you. We will not engage!" Lighting cracked and hit the ground in front of us, creating a scorched mark in the grass.

"Uh...can Red Tornado do that?" Wally shouted.

"I don't think so, Wally," I said, backing up from the force of the wind.

"You think I'm Tornado? _Ironic_." More lighting flashed, this time at least three bolts at the same time, and created an explosion that sent us all flying back. I groaned, closing my eyes and laying my face against the grass. This was _so_ not how I wanted to spend my Saturday.

I heard Superboy's yell and felt the earth shake as he was sent flying into the ground and created a trench in his wake. Twister advanced on us, lightning crackling all over his body, when Megan slowly woke up and gasped, waving her hand. I faintly heard the noise of the bioship flying over us, and I knew that we were hidden by it's camouflage mode. The android paused. "Fine then. I wont deny you children have power." Wally made a noise, and I clamped a hand over his mouth warningly. "But playing hide and seek with you will not help me achieve my objectives." And those were...? "So stay concealed. If you confront me again, I will show. no. mercy." He flew off, and I breathed a sigh of relief, removing my hand from Kid's mouth.

"What happened?" he asked as we the others began to rise.

"I placed the bioship between us."

Superboy growled and punched the mound of dirt next to him that was stirred up from his fall. "And that's supposed to make it right?" he asked angrily, walking towards us. "You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado."

"She didn't do it on purpose!" I defended immediately, glaring him down. "She didn't know any better."

"It was a rookie mistake," Robin added. "We shouldn't have listened."

"You are pretty inexperienced," Wally said to Megan, hands in his pockets awkwardly. He sighed. "Hit the showers, we'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way," Superboy glared, stalking past us and broke into a run in the direction Twister flew off – Happy Harbor. Kid and Robin spared her one last look before doing the same.

"I was just trying to be a part of the team," Megan muttered sadly, looking down. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"To be honest, I'm not sure we really have a team," Kaldur sighed, before walking off. I looked at Megan, biting my lip.

"I can stay if you want," I suggested, even though that was the last thing I wanted to do. But, we were friends, and that's what friends do, I suppose. The team was being harsh towards her and she didn't deserve it. From what I gathered, she had only been a hero since she arrived at the Cave after we busted Cadmus, and it was hardly fair to judge her for it.

"No," she smiled softly. "You go, I'll be okay."

"You sure?" I tried not to let my relief show. She nodded. "Alright then." I gave her one last look before sprinting to catch up to Aqualad.

We caught up to the others eventually at the scene where Twister was wreaking havoc. He was making tornadoes with ease, sweeping up boats from the docks and flinging them around, destroying houses and businesses without a second thought. "Surely this will get the attention I desire."

"You got ours!" Kid shouted, running at him. "Full and undivided!" He sped up and aimed a kick at his chest, making the android stumble slightly.

"Okay, what's the plan?" I whispered to Robin.

"Go at him, guns blazing," he shrugged, standing up to charge at him with Aqualad. I rolled my eyes.

"Genius."

Kaldur dodged a tornado, only to be picked up by another and flung into a rather expensive looking house far away from where we were standing. KF ran at him again at the same time I did, the tornado missing him, but I wasn't so fortunate. My back slammed into something, and I heard a groan behind me. "Sorry," I winced, pulling away from Aqualad, who had just stood up from the debris before I was thrown into him.

"It is fine," he replied.

I looked up just in time to see Superboy land in front of us, and a large mass sailing right behind him. "That's a boat! That's a boat!" I shouted, diving out of the way. The boat landed right where the two of us were just standing, and as soon as we tumbled to a stop, the large building collapsed. The motor of the boat landed right in front of us, and Aqualad picked it up, running at Twister with it in his hands.

Damn that boy's strong.

It wasn't enough, though. And Twister simply swatted him away like a fly. I stood my ground in front of the android and let out a wail that would hopefully short his system. It looked like it was working for a moment, until I faltered as a voice reverberated throughout my skull.

_'Listen to me.'_ It was M'gann.

_'All of you.'_ A tornado swept me up and, within seconds, I was submerged in the murky water of the bay. Every single cut and scrape on my body screamed in pain as the salt water seeped into them, and my head was pounding from the sudden landing and the foreign being within my thoughts.

It hurt like hell to move, but I had to. I managed to resurface to see that the others were experiencing the same effect on their minds as I was. Superboy looked absolutely furious, and must've said something mean again to elicit Megan's next response.

_'I know! And I know I messed up, but I'm very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me.'_ Her voice sounded so sure, so confident in what she knew, that I couldn't possibly say no.

_'Give us what you got, Miss M,'_ I answered in my head, climbing up onto the dock and spitting out some water. I was up for anything, as long as it didn't involve me going back in that accursed bay. _'Anything you have is most likely a better plan than what we've got going here.'_

_'Thanks, Tess. Okay, here's what we need to do...'_

The four of us had gathered together to fight against Twister, each of us ready to fight, when suddenly we were interrupted by 'Red Tornado' flying in front of us. "Hit the showers, team. I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot," he remarked in his robotic voice.

"But we've got a plan now!" Robin protested.

I stepped up next to him and tried to tug on Tornado's cold arm."We are perfectly capable of doing this on our own, Tornado!"

"This is not up for debate."

We all stared at each other, dejectedly, and walked off, leaving the two androids to duke it out. As soon as we were out of their line of sight, Wally and I hid behind a few crates to wait for the perfect opportunity, with Superboy and Robin not too far away. Aqualad ran forward and dove into the bay, waiting where I had landed previously.

'Red Tornado' was knocked down for the second time, and he simply laid there as Mr. Twister came forward and towered over him. "Remain still, android," I heard the villain growl as cords began to extend from his fingertips. "The reprogramming wont take long."

'Torando' turned his head over and gripped the cords, his face suddenly morphing into Miss Martian's. She smiled. "Longer than you might think."

"That's your que," I muttered to KF, who nodded and began to spin a tornado, whirling towards the pair. I followed suit, pulling out a grappling hook from my belt. Twister was caught up in KF's tornado once Megan blew him back with her telepathy, and I shot the line around his legs, locking them into place as he flew backwards towards Superboy. The clone began to punch holes in his chest, and succeeded in knocking him back into the bay, where Aqualad was waiting.

We waited with bated breath, and it only took seconds for Twister to sail above the surface, missing an arm and radiating electricity like lighting bolts. M'gann flew up, and in one quick motion, pulled his remaining arm off. Robin threw his disks, which exploded on impact as they hit Twister's body. Horribly defeated, the unconscious android dropped to his knees before all of us.

Suddenly, his chest cavity opened up, revealing a frail looking man with graying hair, who strongly resembled a monkey. "F-foul, I call foul," the man pleaded, looking up at us from the pavement, where he had fallen. _That's weird, _I thought, stepping closer. _There was a human inside, yet M'gann couldn't read his mind._

"Megan, no!" Kaldur shouted, and I was knocked out of my thoughts as a slab of concrete slammed to the ground in front of me, right on top of the man. My mouth dropped open. _Did she just...kill this man? I don't understand..._

"Don't know how things are done on Mars," Robin began angrily. "But on Earth, we don't _execute _our captives!"

Megan smiled amicably at all of our horrified looks, and remarked teasingly, "You said you trust me." She raised a hand, and removed the bolder, revealing the shattered remains of the man..._robot? _"That's why I couldn't read his mind."

"A robot...inside another robot?" I mused, still very shocked and confused about this whole thing, like most of my teammates appeared to be, except for Megan – who knew all along – and Wally – who had just picked up the robot man's eye and called it a souvenir, ignoring most of the conversation.

"We should've trusted you," Aqualad offered, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," KF interjected. "You really _rocked _this mission. Geddit? _Rocked? _Heh heh."

I groaned. "Dude, _shut up."_

"Ignore him," Robin muttered to Megan as we began to walk away from the still-chuckling Wally. "We're all just turbed you're on the team."

"Heh, thanks, me too."

_Yeah, this whole team thing, will most definitely work out._


	7. Chapter 7

**You guys rock my socks. Seriously. I was having a pretty crappy day the other day, and then I found that I had over 30 reviews on this story...I flipped out. I was originally going to wait until I had Chapter 8 done to post this, but you guys totally deserve it.**

**Review? Pretty please? I'll give you a virtual cookie...**

"_So how are things with you and Ollie?" I found myself asking after a long silence. Usually dinner at the table with Dinah wasn't as awkward as it was today._

"_Fine," she began, taking a bite out of her spaghetti. "But he's still beating himself up over Roy."_

_I paused, wanting to say so many things at once, but quickly decided none of them would help me at all. I simply reverted my gaze from her and pushed around my plate."All of us are."_

_She sighed, reaching her hand across the table to grasp mine and giving me a sympathetic look."Especially you, Tess. I know that, given your feelings towards him –"_

"_I don't have any feelings for that asshole other than hatred, Dinah," I growled, ripping my hand away and situating them in my lap so she couldn't grab them again._

"_You can't keep telling yourself that, Tess, it's not healthy."_

"_I don't want to talk about this." My chair made a screeching noise as I stood up abruptly, throwing my napkin down on my plate. I refused to look at her – to see the sad, sympathetic look in her eyes – and made my way towards the stairs. "I'm going to bed."_

"_You can't avoid this forever, Tessa," Dinah called at my retreating back. I stopped at the entrance to the hallway, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye and pursing my lips._

"_Just watch me."_

"We are approaching Santa Prisca," Miss M announced, making me jump in my seat and shake my head to clear my thoughts of the scene that had just played. _Focus, focus, focus..._

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I didn't get a second of sleep last night, contrary to the fact that I had gone to bed at 7 o'clock after my argument with Dinah. And it was now, what, 10 pm? I hate these late night missions. "Are you alright, Echo?" a concerned voice said from behind me, and I turned to face Aqualad.

"Fine, just a little tired."

He nodded and directed his attention back to the scenery outside, but the concerned look on his face stayed in place. It was obvious he didn't believe me. And, honestly, it mattered little to me right now what he thought.

"Drop zone A in thirty." Aqualad stood up, his seat dissolving back into the bioship, and he pressed the A on his belt, transforming his red shirt into a grey one.

"Ready," he said.

"Putting bioship in camouflage mode." Outside my window, the left wing disappeared on Miss M's command. "Ready?"

The bottom of the ship opened up, making a hole large enough for one person to fit, and Aqualad gave us all one last look before diving head first into the ocean below. We waited a minute for his response. "Heat and motion sensors are now patched. The video feed is on a continuous loop. Invade."

Within seconds, the bioship had stopped a second time. "Drop zone B," M'gann announced, and our seats all dissolved once we stood up. Hooks appeared from the ceiling, and we latched them onto our belts. I sighed, and zipped up my bustier up all the way. I was wearing one of Canary's old costumes from when she was younger as my covert uniform, because the last time I wore mine I was when I was supposed to be tracking down Cupid for Canary, and she shot and explosive arrow at me, tearing a huge hole in my suit. So now, I really _did _look like a Canary Clone.

"How cool is this?" KF beamed, gesturing to his black and grey covert uniform. I rolled my eyes.

"Hardly," I answered at the same time Miss M said "Very impressive." She waved her arms, and suddenly her outfit went from her usual white shirt and skirt, to a full black body uniform with a hooded cape.

"Uh...that works too," he replied lamely. "Hey, Supey, not too late to put on the new stealth tech."

"No capes, no tights, no offense," Superboy remarked, crossing his arms.

"It totally works for you," Miss M said with a dreamy tone. "I...mean, you could totally do good work in those clothes." I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud as she pulled up her hood and disappeared.

"Nice save," I whispered, close to where I assumed she was. Raising my voice, I rolled my shoulders and walked to the hole that had once again opened up from the floor, "This just got a whole lot weirder, so I'm just gonna leave now."

I landed beside Robin, who had given up on the conversation moments before I had, and we barely had enough time to dive out of the way as Superboy jumped down, shaking the ground and leaving a crater in his wake. Of course.

"I knew I didn't need a line," he said smugly, standing up straight and brushing the dirt that had kicked up off his pants.

Robin huffed angrily from his spot on the ground, legs sprawled out in front of him. I rubbed my tail bone and stood up, offering him a hand. "And yet creating a seismic event doesn't help us much with the_ covert!_"

"Aqualad," Megan began into her comlink. "Drop B is go."

"Head towards the factory. I'll track your GPS and rendezvous with you there ASAP."

"Roger that," Robin replied, putting his holographic map away as we raced into the brush. Miss M flew and KF raced ahead with Superboy keeping pace with his jumping, leaving Robin and I to bring up the rear. Actually, leaving me to bring up the rear, because I kept tripping over those _damn _tree roots. We all slowed down when we got to a narrow path next to a waterfall. It was eerily beautiful out here, and I'm sure it must look amazing when it's light outside.

"Where are you going?" I whispered to Robin, who had kept walking ahead when the others stopped, staring straight down at his map.

He shook his head, and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the thick trees, "C'mon." We jumped from boulder to boulder, flying through the forest at top speed. "My sensors detect two groups of people rendezvousing on our previous path. I'm trying to get a closer look."

"Got it," I answered, but pulled on his cape to get him to stop running. I closed my eyes and concentrated a wave on the path ahead, only to reveal two groups coming at us from both sides far away, all holding heavy weaponry. In fact, if we didn't move right now, we'd be closed in soon enough. Looking around, I noticed the tree next to us was incredibly thick and probably was strong enough to hold the both of us. "Let's climb the tree to get a better look."

"Good thinking." He pulled out his grappling gun and wrapped an arm around my waist, sending us flying through the air once the end hooked onto a thick branch. Robin had it much easier than I, seeing as he had gotten a good grip on the branch before I did. He positioned himself like a bird on the limb, and reached out to catch my slipping hand, hauling me up beside him.

"Thanks," I panted, cracking my fingers, which were starting to hurt like hell.

"Don't mention it...Hey, look." He pointed downward towards the two parties, who were both carrying some very menacing looking guns, marching towards each other. Neither of them looked very happy to see the other, and something told me that us being the ones to take them out wouldn't be necessary. My suspicions were confirmed once both sides raised their guns to open fire at each other.

Now, in any other situation, I would've sat here and just watched with Rob, or steered clear, but not this time, because a black and red blur suddenly skittered into the clearing, right in front of one of the side's leaders. _Shit, that's KF. _"Kid!" I gasped, raising my binoculars to get a better look.

Superboy wasn't far behind, and he flew into the muscled leader, who started to open fire on Wally. The speedster up and ran away the second he could, avoiding bullets from both parties being shot at him in flurries of red. Superboy and the leader, who looked like he was a WWE Mexican wrestler on steroids (mask and everything), tussled for a second, both proving to have amazing strength. Fortunately, Superboy was stronger, and he managed to throw his opponent into a tree.

"Um, I'd say we should intervene," I suggested, standing up.

Robin sighed, "Yeah, I'd say so." He jumped down, cape flying out behind him, and took out one guy about to take KF's head off. What he wasn't paying attention to was behind his own self, and I launched myself off the branch just in time for Kid to let out a "look out!" before I landed perfectly on the hooded guy's back. I slammed the side of my hand into his neck on one of the pressure points Canary taught me, successfully knocking him out.

"What's wrong with you guys? Remember _covert? _Why did you follow my lead like Echo and vanish into the jungle?" Robin shouted, taking out another guy with his back to mine while I did the same.

"That's what you were doing? Way to fill us in! We're not mind readers you know," KF argued, flip-kicking his opponent in the jaw. Megan flew up behind him and slammed two guys into a tree with her mind. "Er, I'm not, anyway."

"You said I could only read the bad guy's minds," she accused, putting her hands on her hips. I rolled my eyes at them all and pulled a length of rope from my belt to tie the remaining unconscious enemies to trees. But, a few of them had snuck away while we were busy _arguing _beforehand_. _

"I recognize those uniforms!" Robin gasped as I pulled away, admiring my handiwork. "They belong to the Cult of the Cobra." _The what?_

"I am certain Batman would've mentioned that if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's venom operation," Aqualad said with his arms crossed.

"Agreed, and since there's clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons, I'm betting Cobra came in and tossed them out."

"And _that _must be why the normal supply lines are cut off," I added, looking at the captured cultists with a smirk. They simply glared back – at least, the conscious ones did.

"We get it, Cobra wanted super-cultists. Mystery solved," KF remarked dryly. "Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for –"

"The cultists aren't _on _Venom!" Robin protested. "Cobra's hording the stuff! We don't leave. Not until I know why."

Hold up, until _he _knows why? "Until _you _know why?"

"This team needs a leader!"

"And it's you?" KF snorted, poking a finger at his best friend's chest – well, _former _best friend, at the rate this is going. "You're a thirteen-year old kid who ducked out on us without a word."

Robin chuckled. "Oh, and _you're _a mature fifteen? You blew our cover the first chance you got.

"Don't you want to lead?" Miss M awkwardly asked Superboy as we stood slightly away from their lover's spat. He quickly shook his head.

"Pfft, no. You?"

"After the Mister Twister fiasco?" She held up her hands.

"You did alright." _And there's that awkwardly embarrassed tension we all missed. _

Megan turned to me, desperately trying to clear her face of the most obvious blush I had ever seen in my entire life."What about you Echo? You're the oldest one here."

"Yeah, and be responsible for those two idiots all the time? I'll pass," I snorted. "Besides, I ran off with Robin, too, remember?"

She sighed, offering me a small smile, "I suppose." I glanced over at Wally and Robin, who were still going at it like catty teenage girls, and I decided that I should be the one to end it. After all, no one else seemed to be doing anything about it.

"Yeah, well, you don't even have any powers!" KF glared, crossing his arms.

"So? Neither does Batman!"

"Hello, you're _not _Batman."

Robin scoffed. "Chuh, closest thing we've got!"

"Oi, Beavis and Butt-Head!" I stomped up to them and grabbed their ears, holding on tight as they both hissed in pain. "You both better shut up now or goddammit I will become leader and it will be a freakin' _dictatorship, _got it?" They both mumbled their affirmatives, and I rolled my eyes, shoving their heads away. "We've got more important things to worry about right now, like the _chorizo_-heads strapped to that tree right there."

The beefy guy with the mask chuckled, looking at us out of the corner of his eye. "Such clever niños, but you only know half the story...Let me show you the rest – get you into the factory via my secret entrance." I scoffed, walking towards him with the team, arms crossed. Why would he ever do that for us without getting anything in return? I mean, this man _is _a criminal.

Miss Martian knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on her head, her eyes glowing white. "There is a secret entrance, but he's also hiding something..."

Masked-Guy smirked slyly, "Uh uh uh, chica. Bane is not that easy."

"Ugh, he's mentally reciting..._fútbol _scores _en Español,_" Miss M sighed, her eyes returning to their normal gold color as she turned to look at us. "This could take a while."

"It's not complicated," Bane said. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"I thought we were his enemy, too," I whispered to KF, who shrugged, even as Aqualad nodded the okay to untie Bane. Superboy made quick work of the binds, and Bane stood, cracking his knuckles. He glanced at us all, before walking off into the dark,

"Follow me, niños." I shared a look with Superboy, who too looked apprehensive, before following Bane. In a matter of minutes, we were standing on a ledge overlooking a large warehouse with the the Kobra cultists milling around, transporting cases of something or other.

"Look at all that product," Robin hissed, kneeling while looking through is binoculars. I pulled out my own and followed suit. "A buy is going down, but if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects..."

"Then we need to identify the buyer," Aqualad finished for him.

"Just what I was thinking," Kid said back, pulling on his night-vision goggles.

"Yep!" Robin chuckled. "You're the thinker!"

"Sarcasm? Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers."

Bane walked away from us, towards a giant bolder situated up against a rock wall. In one fluid movement, he lifted the rock and set it aside, gesturing to the now-open cave with a grin, "Answers, are this way."

Robin took one look at us, before moving to follow Bane inside the cave, making me raise my eyebrows. How could he trust this guy not to betray us? For all we know, the cave is merely a dead end, and he's just planning to rip us apart once we get there. KF, apparently, was thinking along the same lines as me, "Oh, now _El Luchador _is our leader!" Robin scoffed, shoving him as he passed.

"Wait, are we really gonna trust this guy?" I asked as we followed.

"It's best to go along for now," Aqualad replied.

"Okay," I sighed. "But I reserve the right to say I told you so when this thing blows up in our faces." With that being said, we reluctantly followed Robin inside. It took a few minutes of walking – the whole time I was thinking about how this was _totally _a trap – until we arrived at a steel wall that obviously wasn't part of the cave. Bane pressed his thumb against a button on the side wall, and the doors opened with a hiss. We were in the back room, apparently, as there were stacks of hundreds of crates all surrounding us. Creeping toward the door, we held our breaths as Bane opened it a crack, enough for Robin to peek his head out. "Coast is clear," he called back, both of us running off.

We both arrived at an office above the main warehouse, where one cultist was sitting behind a desk, surrounded by a circle of computers. Robin pulled a Batarang out of his belt and whipped it at the nearest one to him, and it instantly released knockout gas. He walked over to the chair and pushed the now-unconscious guy off, before bending over the monitor. "You know, I could've just knocked him out the old fashioned way," I remarked, taking a seat beside him.

"Ah, but that wouldn't be nearly as fun."

I shook my head, chuckling as I ripped the Batarang out of the monitor I sat by. "You just like using these things."

"So what?"

Suddenly, KF skidded to a stop behind us, candy bar in hand. "Watcha got?"

"A bunch of 3 dimensional scribbles," I answered, peering over Robin's shoulder. He elbowed me in the stomach with a snort.

"They're chemical formulas, Echo," he corrected, and I rolled my eyes. I liked my idea better. "I'm guessing it involves Venom, but..."

KF sped over, and knelt beside Robin in the other side, reaching forward and pointing two the formulas with his half-eaten candy bar. "That one's venom and...whoa, the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus."

I squinted at the screen, watching as the two formulas melded together. "And I'm going to go ahead and assume that's pretty damn bad, correct?"

"Yeah, way bad..." Kid confirmed, glancing at me. "When mixed correctly, Kobra's new juice is three times stronger than Venom..._and permanent. _But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster?"

"Who ever is getting the stuff from Kobra, must be handing him Blockbuster formula, too," I said. "Yep, this is bad."

Robin gasped, standing up."They want to create a Blockbuster-Venom Super Formula!" He pressed a hand to his headset. "Robin to Aqualad, we got..._static._"

"Yep, this is _way _bad," I nodded as we began to walk towards the door, and KF turned to scowl at me,

"Would you quit saying that!" I stuck my tongue out in retaliation, but froze as a loud bang shook the rafters we were walking on. The three of us ran forward to see the rest of our team battling tons of cultists equipped with machine guns, a Venom/Blockbuster powered monster, and...

"Is that Sportsmaster?" I gasped, staring down at the blond man with a hockey mask over his face.

"Seems like it," Robin answered, before jumping down and landing on a few guys while KF sped off. Realizing I was the only one left, I sighed and shook my head, before I jumped onto the rafters below. Three Kobra guys were shooting at Aqualad who was hiding behind a pillar with KF behind him. So, I ran and slid, knocking out all three guys in one quick swipe.

_Everyone online?_Megan's voice asked in my head, making me freeze slightly. Gah, it was so weird having voices in my head...you know, other than the usual ones.

_...Yeah, _Superboy sighed.

_You know it, beautiful, _KF answered.

I stepped on the nearest one, satisfied with the oomf he made when my heel collided with his chest. I ripped the gun from his hands, using it to bash his head in, along with his friends, before throwing it at the wall to break it. _I hear you loud and clear, Miss M._

_Good, _Kaldur said._ We need to regroup._

_Busy now! _Robin exclaimed.

_Robin, **now!** _

I felt a presence behind me. I whipped around, only to see KF standing on the chest of yet another guy, who apparently was trying to sneak up behind me. "Thanks," I sighed, glancing down at the Kobra Cultist.

"You can thank me later, Blondie."

_We need to retreat. Kid, clear a path,_ Kaldur ordered, and the speedster saluted me before running off towards a group of cultists on the main floor.

_Roger that! _In a matter of seconds, he had plowed through all of them and was running through the door we came in, with the rest of us following close behind. I ducked to avoid one who tried to grab me, and swung at his face, before I was grabbed around the waist by Kid Flash, who narrowly avoided getting hit by the mammoth-sized monster Superboy was going toe-to-toe with. The clone followed suit after picking him up and throwing him into the remaining cultists, and yanked the steel door shut behind him. Unfortunately, that did little to hold him off, and the monster barreled through the door like it was made of paper and not a foot of steel.

We sprinted as fast as we could as the cultists who followed the monster opened fire, and we barely dodged the bullets. "Superboy!" Aqualad shouted. "The support beams!" Superboy nodded, and slammed his weight into the beams on the side of the cave, weakening the ceiling. After hitting just three, the ceiling caved in behind us, and we let out sighs of relief.

Aqualad pulled out a glow stick and cracked it, bathing the cave in a dark red glow. I slumped against the wall next to Miss M, panting slightly. These boots were _so_ not made for running. Robin sighed, looking away from us all, "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?"

"You are the most experienced," Kaldur began. "But perhaps that has what left you the most unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined, you do not need to talk. But, this team is new. The leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play part in an unknown plan."

"So I'm just supposed to hold everyone's hands?" he replied angrily, turning around to face us. "...Oh who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur, you're the only one who can."

"Please, I can run circles –" Wally began indignantly, scowling.

"Wally c'mon, you know he's the one. We all do."

"Hello Megan!" Miss M grinned. "It's obvious!"

"Could've told you," Superboy remarked, glancing at him.

It took Wally a moment, but eventually he caved, "...Okay."

Kaldur turned to me expectantly as the team waited for my answer. I glanced at them all for a moment, before cracking a smile and shaking my head. "Hey," I winked. "You got my vote."

"Then I accept the burden," he said, walking over to Robin and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon."

"Not to be a, you know, _noodge_," I began, kicking off the wall and crossing my arms. "But we're still trapped on this island with people out to kill us. Maybe we can save the cozy Hallmark moments for later?"

"Right," Kaldur said. "Our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving the island."

Robin grinned, "Funny, I had the same thought."

* * *

><p>"Sportsmaster is the supplier slash buyer, but it still doesn't track. He doesn't have the juice to get the formula, or to get Kobra to do his dirty work," Robin explained as we ran through the cave.<p>

"And neither of them have the chops to bond Blockbuster formula with Venom," Wally agreed. "That took some major nerd-age."

"I believe the expression is, tip of the iceberg," Kaldur remarked as we slowed to a stop when Bane suddenly appeared at the exit. I cussed under my breath.

"Halt, niños," Bane smirked, dropping pipe bombs onto the ground – the kind that exploded with the push of a button. "I'm feeling.._.explosive._" It was then that we noticed that the entire entranced was laced with the same bombs, all with menacing red glowing lights.

"You betrayed us!" Aqualad accused. Wow, he actually sounded surprised about this. "Why?"

"I want my factory back."

_Kid, get a running start, _Aqualad said through our link, and the speedster barely nodded, before he started taking steps back farther into the cave.

"So, I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies, or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more! Blowing the tunnel with you inside," he held up the trigger, and KF sped by in a blur, swiping it from his hand without him even noticing. "Should have the same effect." He gave us all one final grin, before pressing his thumb down where the trigger _used _to be. His eyes widened in shock as he realized he was simply grasping air.

"Oh, you mean with this trigger thingy?" Wally smirked, holding up the button. Bane roared, and whirled around to punch him, just as Miss Martian lifted her hands and raised him up in the air, spinning him around to face us as KF sped away.

"Finally," Superboy smirked, pulling back his fist. "Drop him."

Apparently, Superboy was strong enough to knock out a grown, monstrous man on steroids six was to Sunday. I walked over to Bane and hopped on his chest, jumping up and down a couple of times, "Yep, he's out cold. Nice job, Supey." He nodded his thanks, and I smirked at my friends. "Is this an appropriate time to say _'I told you so?'_ Or should I wait until later?"

"Might as well get it over with now," Robin sighed.

"Okay, well then, I told you so!" I snickered, pointing my finger at each of them individually. "I was right! But _no! _Nobody listens to me! Next time, think twice before you ignore my complaints about masked villains; I may be saying something important and helpful for the future."

KF rolled his eyes, brushing past me. "...Or not."

* * *

><p>The plan was set in motion, beginning with KF running through the clearing outside the factory, knocking down a couple cultists in his way. Superboy jumped off the ledge we both were positioned on, and landed in front of the helicopter, shaking the ground and creating a smoking crater. I followed suit quickly, grappling onto the top of the helicopter and tumbling down just as Superboy remarked, "Go again?"<p>

The monster, who was standing next to Kobra and the strange punk girl – Shimmer, I believe – roared and charged, only to be knocked back by my sonic scream. Kaldur released a large stream of water from the water tower next to him, equaling the pressure of a firehose that sent Ugly stumbling back.

Superboy went to go after him, but was stopped by Sportsmaster, who was holding particularly menacing gun. Figuring he could handle himself – he was bulletproof, after all – I ran up to Ugly and kicked him in the jaw before he could grab me, and screamed in his ear. He doubled over, and Aqualad blasted more water at him, making him fall. The monster stood up again, holding up his arm to block the stream of water while I aimed kicks at him. I ran up to kick his jaw again, but he saw it coming, and grabbed my ankle, throwing me into the woods behind him.

And let me tell you, hitting a tree 500 yards away after being tossed by a huge monster is _not _pleasant. At all. Not to mention, it seems my head decided to break my fall, instead of, you know, maybe my _hands. _

My yelp echoed throughout the forest, and my vision swam in front of my eyes as I cradled my head. Poking some spots on my head, I felt an indentation while I hissed in pain and cursed under my breath. Yep, concussion. I didn't even know where I fucking was in this forest, and now my head hurts like a bitch and I keep losing in front of my eyes from the pain. Cursing under my breath, I began to trudge towards the direction I assumed I came from.

After about two minutes of stumbling like a drunk through the dark forest, I heard a loud whirring noise above my head and looked to see Sportsmaster's helicopter explode, bursting into flames. "Damn," I whistled, holding my head and watching the light show, squinting when I saw an object fall out. Must be Sportsmaster.

Picking up the pace, I jogged (which isn't a good idea if you have a concussion, by the way) through the rest of the forest towards the line of smoke from the helicopter, and arrived just in time to see the Voldemort look-alike (Kobra) back into the split trunk of the tree, saying, "Another time then." Robin ran after him, peering through the brush, only to find nothing. He turned around with a smirk, and walked up to Aqualad,

"We picked the right guy to lead," he said, before chuckling. "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!"

We gave Aqualad sympathetic looks and Miss Martian called in the bioship to pick us up. In a matter of minutes, we were boarding, and I had gotten some ice for my back and head, courtesy of Megan. "Hey guys," I began, and they all turned their attention to me. "Does anyone want to explain to me what just happened? Because my memory is kind foggy from hitting that tree really hard."

"Nothing much," KF smirked, I can't really imagine why. "Other than the fact that we followed Bane inside a creepy, dark tunnel where he eventually betrayed us, because _you _thought he was telling the truth."

"Oh..." I picked up my coat, which I had taken off once we got in the ship, and threw it at him. It landed on his head covering his face, and he let out an indignant "hey!" "My memory isn't _that _jacked, you jerk! I know what happened _then!_"

He shrugged, pulling the jacket off his head as the team laughed at his expense. "Hey, it was worth a shot."

* * *

><p>"A simple recon mission," Batman glared, pacing in front of us as we stood in our civvies the a few days later. "Observe and report. You'll each be receiving a written evaluation detailing your <em>many <em>mistakes. But until then, good job."

All of our heads snapped towards him in unison, completely in shock. Did he just say what I think he said? "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy," he explained. "How you _adjust _to the unforeseen determines success. And how you choose who leads, determines character." Aqualad and Robin shared a smile, and I couldn't help but grin myself. This was a very pleasant change of pace. No more fighting or physical injuries! "You are dismissed."

"So...who wants to order pizza?" I asked as we all made our way toward the common room.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me!" Wally shouted, speeding ahead. "Three larges with extra everything!"

"WALLACE!" I yelled back, chasing after him as the others laughed from behind us. "DAMMIT GIVE ME THE PHONE!"

Okay, you know that thing about not fighting and physical injuries? I take it back.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I finally finished it! I've been procrastinating big time on this one, mostly because this was probably one of my least favorite episodes, but I degress...Thank you guys_so_ much for the reviews, favs, and alerts! We're getting close to 50! Unbelievable! Without any of you lovely people, this story would've probably stopped at Chapter 5 :)**

**Okay, now I have something to ask of you guys. I'm a little, admittedly, stuck on what to write for this next chapter, because I really want to do something that doesn't go along with the episodes. I have a few ideas floating around in my head, all having to do with Echo and Artemis interactions, but they don't seem too good to me. So, after you finish this chapter, if you could review and tell me what you might like to happen with the two girls (whether it be a mission, hanging out, etc), I would most likely love you forever and ever and ever and ever...**

"She shoots, she scores! And The Wall-Man is left in the dust!" I hollered, waving my arms in the air as the score projected above them changed from 09 to 10. "I told you, I rock at this game."

"Yeah, yeah," he scowled, taking a bite out of the banana he was holding. "Cut me some slack, I'm playing one-handed here."

"It only takes one hand to play air hockey, stupid," Robin smirked, from the side of the holographic projection in front of them. It was the only game the computer had programmed into it, and we had been playing it in rounds for hours now. The current champions were me and Kid Flash, and we had both been smack-talking each other for a while now.

"OH! What now?" Wally yelled as he tied the score. "In your face!"

"Bitch please," I grumbled under my breath, waiting impatiently for the puck to appear on the table again.

"Don't you think you're getting a little too into this?" my opponent asked.

I scored again, smirking evilly as he groaned. "Nope." We were too busy with their game to pay any attention to the computer announcing their missing teammate's arrival, until he walked straight through their game. The two of us let out loud protests, and I stomped my foot childishly, glaring at his retreating back, "Uh, rude, much?"

"Hi Superboy," Megan began when he didn't look up at them. "How was Metropolis?"

"From what I'm seeing," I began. "Not too good."

"Mhm," Wally agreed.

Someone cleared their throat, and the group turned toward the sound, only to find Black Canary and Martian Manhunter standing there. "Ready to train?" Canary asked, smiling. I rolled my eyes and jogged over to my mentor.

"Thanks for the memo, BC."

"No problem, kiddo," Canary replied in the same sarcastic tone, ruffling my hair. I pushed away her hand and hurriedly fixed what she messed up.

"Black Canary, Uncle J'onn!" Megan greeted, flying over to them and hugging her uncle.

"M'gann, I was in the neighborhood," he began, putting a hand on her shoulder. "So I thought I'd see how you were adjusting."

"A few bumps, but...I'm learning."

"That is all I can ask for." You would have to be blind not to notice the angry jealous look that flashed across Superboy's face as he witnessed the two Martian's encounter. I felt sympathy bubble in my stomach as he turned away, making me rush after him and pull on his arm.

"Superboy, wait, we've got to train," I muttered, but he didn't budge. Literally, he didn't even move his feet and I was pulling on him with all my strength. The most he did was turn around and cross his arms, looking down at me expectantly.

I rolled my eyes at him. If he wants to act like a bitchy little girl, fine. Not my problem. "If you wanna be that way, whatever," I scowled, making my way across the room to stand next to Robin and Miss M. Superboy stared after me, but didn't say anything else. That boy brings a whole new meaning to the word 'stubborn.'

Canary walked over to the middle of the floor, which lit up a bright white light. "I consider it an honor to be your teacher. Everything I've learned from my own mentors," she winced as she took off her jacket, and I noted that her wound was still hurting her. I was the one to wrap it this morning. That stupid Amazo robot really did a number on the League.

"What happened?" Megan gasped, eyes widening.

"The job," she answered tonelessly. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict – putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner."

I stepped away from Superboy, about to volunteer, when Wally eagerly raised his hand, "Right here! Yup." He walked up to her, smirking, and took a bite out of the banana before he threw it away. "After this..._swish..._I'll show you my moves."

I gagged a little, shuddering and holding my stomach. "Ew," I groaned, making Robin snicker. Canary's like, _my mom_. That's disgusting.

Canary grinned, throwing a punch that KF blocked. He smirked for a second at the accomplishment, only to be knocked over once Canary swiped her leg out and knocked him on his back. He groaned, sprawled on the ground pathetically. "Ah...It hurts so good..."

"Good block," she commended, helping him up. "But can anyone tell me what he did wrong?"

"Oh oh!" Robin grinned, raising a hand. "He hit on the teacher and got served?" I snorted, and pounded my fist against his.

"_Burn!"_ I shouted.

"Dude," KF groaned, holding his arm.

"He allowed me to dictate the terms," Black Canary began, fixing me with a glare. I shrunk back, the grin disappearing from my face. I hated it when she gave me 'the look.' She seems to do it a lot, too, doesn't she?

Superboy scoffed, bringing all of our attention to him, "Please. With my powers the battle is always on my terms." Oh, you should _not _have said that. "I'm a living weapon. And this is a waste of my time." Oh you definitely shouldn't have said that, either.

Canary smirked, her eyebrows raised in amusement. "Prove it."

He looked surprised for a minute, before he schooled his face and strode over to her confidently. They stood there, sizing each other up. Canary moved to a defensive pose, and Superboy mimicked her. I couldn't help but smirk a little, nudging Robin.

"This is gonna be good," I whispered, and he nodded eagerly.

Superboy was the one to throw the first punch – which ended up being the last. Canary easily dodged his arm, and grabbed it, throwing him across the ring and onto his back. Robin laughed loudly, pointing at the fallen clone. Aqualad nudged him, and he put his hands over his mouth in a feeble attempt to stop. I have to admit, it was hilarious. Supey needed to be taken down a couple of notches.

Obviously, he couldn't take losing, and growled like a wolf as he rolled to his feet. "You're angry, good. Don't react. Chanel that anger to –" Superboy ran at her, cutting her off. When he got close enough, she flipped over his shoulders and swiped his legs out from under him in the same move she used on Kid. Robin snickered (actually, it sound more like giggling) and covered his mouth with his hands again.

"That's it," Superboy growled, standing up. "I'm done."

"Training is mandatory," Canary said as he shook off the hand she placed on his shoulder. She was about to continue, when the alarm sounded and a screen appeared, projecting Batman's head to us.

"Batman to the Cave." We all walked over to the screen. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. The attacker was capable of studying and duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Green Arrow called in reinforcements, which had been proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

"Whoa," KF gasped as we all stared in shock. I definitely didn't hear that part of the story. "One guy with the powers of the entire League?"

"In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

"An android?" Robin interrupted. "But who made it? T. O. Morrow?"

"Good guess, Robin, but Red Tornado doesn't think so."

"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo," Manhunter explained, and all of our eyes widened.

I shook my head, still in shock, "It can't be...he's _dead."_

Black Canary glanced at me over her shoulder with a frown, "Or so we all thought...Or hoped."

"To make certain that this threat was permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts two two seperate STAR Lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution is being taken; we'll have four decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo, or anyone, tries to recover the remains." Oh, so we're babysitting a truck full of scrap metal now. "You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."

"Yes!" KF cheered. "Road trip!"

Superboy, however, wasn't nearly as pleased. "So now we take out your trash?"

"You had something better to do?" Batman asked. As much as I would've liked to shout 'burn' again, I decided that now probably wouldn't be the best time...at all.

After a few seconds of silence and Superboy fuming to himself, Kaldur's PDA-type-thingy beeped, and he announced that we had received the coordinates for our mission. "We're on our way."

* * *

><p>We all sat in the woods beyond the scene of where the League fought Ivo's robot themselves, our respective motorcycles underneath us. The team was using the ones provided by the League, while I decided to just use my own. Sure, it was a bright – almost neon – yellow and stuck out like a sore thumb, but I loved it so much I could never ride any other one.<p>

Once the trucks pulled out, our group split in half. Superboy, Robin, and I took the one headed to Manhattan, while Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Kid Flash were going to Boston. I kicked the kick-stand and sped off, hardly looking back to see if my two partners were following me. I could see Superboy on my left out of the corner of my eye, hunched over his bike broodingly, while Robin was leisurely trailing behind us.

After a few moments of silence, Robin couldn't take it anymore, "If dislike is the opposite of like, is aster the opposite of disaster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right."

I rolled my eyes, "Only if jected is the opposite of dejected. Superboy, how you holding up back there? You're oddly quiet and to be frank, it's kinda freaking me out."

"Clearly, he's not feeling the aster," Robin answered for him. "What's wrong?"

"Canary," he replied, sounding frustrated. "And what business does she have trying to teach combat skills to a guy with super strength?"

"Taking down stronger guys is a part of the gig. Canary learned that the hard way, same thing with Batman and, well, me."

"You can't always rely on your strength to solve your problems, Superboy," I said, dropping back to be side to side with him. "One of these days, you might just find that..." He revved the engine to drown out my preaching, and sped up to get closer to the truck, leaving us in the dust. "Well that was rude."

"He's clearly not feeling the aster."

High pitched laughter suddenly filled the area as about a dozen strange robot-monkeys flew in from the field beside us. That's right, Robot Flying Monkeys. My mouth dropped open as they latched on to the truck, giggling excitedly. Where the hell did they come from?

"Robin, Echo, Superboy," Aqualad said over our comlink. "Our truck is under attack."

Robin snorted, "Kinda figured."

Superboy growled loudly, "I _hate _monkeys."

"Robot monkeys?" Robin snickered. "Totally Ivo's tweak style!" He pressed a button on his bike, and the back shot out, creating some kind of hover-craft robot thing. It was really weird. "Hey, switch your bike to battle mode!"

"No point," Superboy answered, and I barely had time to swerve out of the way as he leaped off his bike and onto the side of the truck. Robin, however, wasn't so lucky. He barely had time to grapple to the side of the truck, or else he would've been smeared all over the pavement.

"Get up here," Robin said to me, holding onto the back and kicking off a few monkeys.

"Chill out, I'm working on it." I was looking for a way to get onto the truck without injuring my bike, but I found that I had no choice. Great. Glancing down at my baby, I patted the face one more time, muttering my apology, before leaping onto where the passenger door was located. I opened the door and climbed inside, slamming it shut behind me to keep the monkeys out. The driver looked at me, his eyes wide with panic. He looked like he was going to pass out. "That's it, I'm gonna drive."

Within seconds, I was sitting in the driver's seat, hunched over the wheel and desperately trying to figure out how to work it. "If I just keep my foot on the pedal, than maybe we'll be okay," I muttered to myself, just as an explosion was heard from outside the truck, and it swerved dangerously. "Oh god we're gonna die."

Suddenly, Robin's face appeared over the side, peering into the window. "Get him out!" he shouted, and I nodded, kicking open the door and grabbing the semi-conscious driver, before tumbling out onto the road and into the cornfield.

"Oh _ow,_" I moaned, rubbing my tailbone and sitting up next to Robin, who I had landed beside. He sat up too, and we both grabbed the driver, before carefully walking him out onto the road. Obviously, he didn't know how to handle the fall as well as Robin and I, and he collapsed as soon as we were out of the corn.

We turned around to watch the monkeys fly off with the box of Amazo parts, and sighed. Well, mission failed. It suddenly dawned on me that there were originally three of us. "Wait...where's Superboy?"

A loud roar made us whirl around, and we saw Superboy lift the roll the semi off of him like it was nothing. He rubbed at his eyes and glanced up at the monkeys, bending his legs. "What is he doing?" I asked Robin warily, and before we knew it, he took a huge leap to follow the monkeys.

"Superboy!" But it was no use, he ignored us and kept going.

"_Aqualad to Robin, we lost our cargo. Did you –"_

He sighed,"It's gone."

"And, unfortunately, so is Superboy," I added. "Wow, this day just keeps getting better and better."

"_Aqualad to Superboy, radio your position; we'll help you,"_ Aqualad said.

"_Don't want help!"_ Superboy stated. _"Don't need any!" _There was a slight click, and then silence.

"_Superboy? Superboy?"_

"Uh, I think he ditched his com," Robin remarked.

"_Super!" _Wally groaned. _"Now we can't even track him!"_

"_He's out of my telepathic range," _Miss M said after a moment. _"This Professor Ivo, if he is alive, seems to be two steps ahead of us...Maybe we-we should contact Red Tornado?"_

"_Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves," _Aqualad said._ "And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts before they're reassembled."_

I glanced at the monkey that we busted up on the ground next to me, and knelt down to look at it's back. It had some sort of control panel on it's back, with what looked almost like a USB port. "Robin," I hissed. "Come look at this."

"_Well, that's a great plan! Except for the part about us not knowing **where to look!**"_ Kid is being such a Debby Downer today.

Robin crouched down next to me and squinted at the monkey. "Maybe we do..." he pulled a cord out of his glove and plugged it into the monkey's back. "We'd have heard by now if the decoy trucks have been attacked. So how did these monkeys know which trucks to target?" The holographic screen popped up, and I glanced over his shoulder to see a map with two blinking red dots. "Ha! The parts have GPS! The monkeys can track the signal, which means I can track them with the one we captured. Looks like the two sets of parts are converging on..._Gotham City._"

"That far south?" Aqualad asked after I groaned loudly. "M'gann and I wont get there anytime soon. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you. Aqualad out."

"Well, this is definitely a disaster," I muttered, kicking a pebble as we both called our bikes to meet us.

"Heavy on the dis," Robin added.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Robin and I were speeding down one of the country roads towards Gotham City, not bothering to wait for KF. Rob had already changed back into his costume, and I just kept the clothes I had on, on. It was the same thing as my costume, anyways, except with pants instead of tights. I saw a flash of yellow beside me, and I turned my head slightly to see Kid keeping pace with us. "Hey, look who finally showed up."<p>

"So you changed, too?" Robin asked.

"You kidding?" he snorted. "I feel naked in civvies."

"Incredibly poor choice of words, Wallace," I grimaced, hunching farther down on the bike with slight disgust.

"You know you like it. Anyways, you guys still tracking the parts?"

"They were heading through Gotham," Rob answered. "But they veered...Wait, they're at my school!"

We all shared a look, before speeding up and taking a left towards Gotham Academy. "What the hell are the parts doing in here?" I hissed as we skidded to a stop outside the gymnasium.

"Dunno...KF, you go around, and Echo and I will go in through these doors."

"Gotcha!" He saluted us, then sped off to wherever Rob directed him, as the both of us slipped inside the doors. My mouth dropped open in shock at seeing Superboy in the gym, fighting the now-reassembled Amazo. In the stands, a small man was sitting at the stands with a few robot monkeys, watching the two duke it out intently. That, obviously, was Ivo.

Amazo kept hitting Superboy with strength I'm sure he aquired from Superman, effectively knocking him down. Just as he was about to smash him even more into the wood floor, Wally ran in and grabbed Supey, shouting "yoink!" as he did so. He set him down next to us, and Robin through an exploding disk at Amazo.

"Martian Manhunter," he said robotically, and turned intangible, allowing the disk to pass through him with ease. He began to rise up on a tornado and flew at us. "Access: Red Tornado."

Superboy and Robin were blown into the stands, as Wally and I were flung back against the wall. Amazo towered over us, and lifted a hand as a faint whirring noise filled the air "Access: Captain Atom." Wally gasped, grabbing me around the waist and running away as a large explosion sounded behind us. He set me down behind the bleachers, and I ran in a full sprint towards the android, releasing a powerful scream.

"Access: Black Canary." My eyes widened, as he opened his mouth to copy my actions. At first, the waves bounced off of each other, but he was clearly more powerful, and I could feel my feet slipping across the gym floor. He suddenly directed the wave towards my feet, and I was thrown backwards into Kid, who was coming up behind me.

"Sorry," I winced, rolling off of him. We both laid there for a moment as Superboy tried to punch Amazo, but he caught his hand and whipped him over Robin's head. The Boy Wonder through another disk at him, but the android swung his arms around like whips – a product of Plastic Man's powers, most likely – and destroyed them. Kid ran at him again, only to be picked up in a bear-hug like hold, being squeezed by Amazo like a boa constrictor would do to its prey.

Wally groaned in pain, and it looked as if the bones in his arms were about to break, if it wasn't for the arrow that appeared out of nowhere. The arrow phased through the android, making him drop Kid, who quickly ran away. Superboy and I both came at him at the same time, hoping to catch him off guard. I released a loud scream in the hopes that it would distract him from Superboy.

"Access: Black Canary," he stated, grabbing Superboy's fist and swinging him around to hit me. We both landed in the bleachers, crashing through the boards and to the floor. I seem to be getting thrown around a lot today, don't I?

Superboy stood, pushing some wood off of us, and offering a hand to help me up. He paused, breathing heavily, and his eyes widened with some sort of realization. "Access Black Canary," he repeated.

"Ugh, yawn," Ivo sighed, holding a hand to his mouth lazily. "Normally Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle, but what's the point? You're all such poor copies of the originals."

"So everyone keeps saying," Superboy remarked, crouching down to jump across the gym towards Ivo. _"It makes me angry!"_

The wimpy little man barely had time to move before Superboy's fists crashed into where he was just sitting. "You wanna see me channel that anger?" he yelled, whirling around to face him.

"Oh great, he's gone ballistic again," Wally said as I joined them on the court.

"Actually, I think he might be channeling the anger," I replied.

"Amazo! Protect your master! Priority Alpha!" Ivo shouted, leaping out of the way to avoid Superboy's wrath. He was hit with a blast of energy from Amazo, who had once again used Captain Atom's powers.

Robin sprinted over to Ivo, who was being picked up by his monkeys, and kicked him. "Anyone wanna play keepaway?" he snickered.

"Oh! Oh! Me! Me!" Kid hollered, running around from the other side to pick the scientist up.

"Access Superman." Amazo stomped his foot, ripping up the gym floor and making Wally fly up to the bleachers. I went in afterwards, grabbing Ivo by his twiggy arm and flinging him up in the air and screaming powerfully enough to make him slam into the ceiling. Robin tumbled in front of me and through a disk, which Amazo phased through. What the android wasn't anticipating, though, was Superboy's fist going through his head. He phased back and his head exploded into tiny pieces.

Superboy flew back into the bleachers on his butt, and I ran over to help him up as Robin made his way over to Amazo, who had fallen over without a head. "Help me diassemble him! Now!"

"Dude, the guy has no head," KF pointed out.

"He couldn't come after us, even if he tried," I felt compelled to add, before my attention was directed to the doors, which Miss M and Aqualad burst through. "Well, it took you long enough!"

"Don't take any chances with the android," Aqualad said, ignoring me, and began to help rip parts of him off.

"Superboy!" M'gann gasped, helping him up. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he answered, looking at Robin and I. "Feeling the aster."

I groaned, "Oh god, it's becoming a thingnow?"

"Hey, where's Ivo?" Kid asked, drawing our attention away from the android. We looked around, only to find the scientist and his monkeys missing.

"Last I saw him, he was flying skyward to the rafters," I snorted. "He must've escaped while we weren't looking."

"Sneaky," he snorted, before running to pick up the arrow sticking out of the floor. "Hey, souvenir!"

I took in its green fletching, and my mouth dropped open. _Oh, someone is gonna have some explaining to do tomorrow!_

* * *

><p>"The Amazo android is in pieces again," Aqualad announced as we stood before BC, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, and Batman. "Safely being analyzed at the two STAR Labs. But, Ivo escaped, and since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android."<p>

"Capturing the Professor will be a League priority," Canary replied, and Manhunter picked it up from there.

"But we understand your mission encountered _other _complications." We all turned to stare accusingly at Superboy, who gave us a 'what?' face, before looking away.

"Complications," Batman began, stepping forward. "Come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League."

"The _whole _League?" Superboy prodded.

"Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." I snorted. That's for sure. "Of course, there's no shame in asking for help; that's why the League exists. Because there's some problems even we can't handle individually."

"Please," Robin scoffed. "If we needed help we'd never get the chance to ask. Look familiar?" He pulled the arrow out of nowhere and held it in front of him. "You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us!"

Batman took the arrow from Robin and handed it to GA, who pulled out his own to compare it to. The heads were completely different, we all noted, which confirmed my suspicions. "We didn't follow you."

"And that's not your arrow," Robin frowned. "But that means –"

"Speedy!" Kid finished for him. I winced audibly, sharing a look with Canary and Green Arrow.

"He has our backs," Aqualad continued as they all gathered around to see the arrow when Kid raced to grab it again.

I didn't have it in me to tell them any different, especially because I knew that if I did, they would most likely hate him for it. The truth was, that arrow wasn't Roy's. He didn't have our backs. He didn't care about any of us. Roy's deserted us for good, and he wasn't coming back.

No, the truth was, that arrow belonged to someone else entirely. And boy was she going to get it the next time I see her.


	9. Chapter 9

**After hours of Mahjong and Solitaire, one sick day from school, and 5+ rerun episodes of Conan, I've managed to finish this chapter in less than a week. Be proud, dear readers, be proud. I've been meaning to answer a couple of questions I've gotten in some reviews, but I always manage to forget to until after I publish the chapter. I remembered this time, though!**

"**Is Tess related to Black Canary or not?" - BellaLuz64**

**Tess actually isn't related to Black Canary at all. Dinah is her godmother, and her adoptive mother, but she isn't related by blood. I haven't mentioned Tess's real parents yet, I know, but they'll play a big part in future chapters (where I deviate from the actual episodes). Both of her parents are still alive, though, but I'm not going to delve any farther into that.**

**There will be more Roy! I swear! The next chapter will have a moment between the two - one that I think ya'll will like!**

**ONE LAST THING, PROMISE! - I made a set on Polyvore for Tess's outfit in this chapter, so if you go to my profile there will be a link to that.**

***Takes a deep breath* Phew! Okay, you can read now!**

_- - Friday, August 6 (I felt compelled to add the date) - -_

I rang the doorbell to the giant mansion in front of me, arms crossed with a scowl on my face as I tapped my foot impatiently. "Come on, come on, come on. Open the freaking door, Ollie!"

The door finally swung open, revealing a tall broad-shouldered man with blonde hair and a goatee. Ollie, of course. "Tess! What a pleasant surprise!" he paused, taking in my angry demeanor, and rethought his statement. "Or, maybe it's not a pleasant surprise. What can I help you with?"

"Is your _protege _here?" I spat, my eyes narrowing into slits. "I need to have a word with her."

"Yeah, she's out back, fixing one of her trick arrows..." I brushed past him, turning through hallways with my fist clenched around an arrow – more specifically, the arrow that caused this mess. Once I reached the French doors leading to the courtyard, I ripped them open and saw a flash of blonde hair sitting underneath a large oak tree. Seeing red, I stomped across the grass and slammed the arrowhead down into the dirt next to her leg. She jumped, staring up at me with shocked eyes as I straightened up and crossed my arms once again.

"What the hell?" she shouted, shocked.

"Wanna tell me what the hell you were doing at Gotham Academy Tuesday?" I hissed, gesturing to the arrow. "Obviously it wasn't a school tour."

"What? You think I was _spying _on you?" I didn't answer, it was hardly a question. She knew exactly what I was thinking. "Freaking unbelievable. I know I'm not exactly the most trustworthy person –"

"So do I. You're probably the most _un_trustworthy person."

She scowled, and continued. "But I wouldn't stoop low enough to spy on your precious team. Hell, in two days time, they're gonna be my team, too." She stood up so she could be eye-to-eye with me (actually, I was taller, but that hardly matters), and her dirty look intensified. "I was helping you."

"Helping? You think by almost shooting Kid Flash and then inspiring some sort of false hope into my gullible teammates is helping?" I repeated incredulously. "Everything would've gone a thousand times better if you hadn't intervened."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause you had it _so _under control," she scoffed. "In case you hadn't been paying attention, Miss I-Got-My-Ass-Handed-To-Me-On-A-Silver-Platter, but that Flash kid was about to be strangled to death! I freaking saved his life, and you're yelling at me?"

"I had a plan!"

"You had absolutely _nothing! _I could tell!"

"How could you tell?" I screeched. "You don't know me!"

"I know you well enough to know that there's nothing going on in that blonde head of yours!"

"Oh screw you!"

"You know I'm right! You're the weakest link on the team and you _hate _it! You've got all this "raised by Canary" shit you've been pulling and you still lose every damn battle you've ever fought on your precious team!"

"I shouldn't have to deal with this," I scowled, picking up the arrow, before waving it at her with every word I spoke. "_You_ shouldn't even_ be_ on the team."

She didn't even look remotely offended until her eyes widened, like she had just had an epiphany. A sadistic smirk spread across her face. "Oh, so _that's _what you're mad about."

"I don't know what the hell you think you've figured out, Crock –"

"You're not mad because I intervened, you're mad because your Knight in Red Armor _didn't_!"

"What? You're insane!"

"No, I'm right!" she countered, laughing slightly and shaking her head. "You talk about your team being hopeful that Speedy will come back, but your delusions are worst of all. You know he wont join the team, but you're still stuck on the idea that your precious boyfriend will just come running back to you. You'll become what you used to be, maybe go off all vigilante with him. He'll finally reciprocate the feelings you thought you had expertly hidden from him. Everything will be perfect and you'll have 2.5 kids and live happily ever after."

I opened my mouth to reply, but the full gravity of what she had said hit me full force, and I ended up gaping like a fish at her. "No, you're wrong," I whispered, finally finding the words to say as I suddenly felt all of the anger I had harbored fizzle out, and be replaced by a heavy weight in my chest. "You're_ wrong_."

"Guess what? Nothing like that is _ever _going to happen."

Artemis's words cut like a knife through my heart, and I felt tears prick my eyes. It didn't even hurt because of the offense behind them, no, it hurt because I knew they were true. Every word she had spoken so far was horribly, painfully true. Shoving my way around her, I collapsed at the base of the tree and pulled my knees to my chest. "This can't be happening," I moaned softly, burying my face into my knees. "Why am I so _stupid?_"

Artemis sat down beside me after a while of staring and mimicked my position, glancing at me out of the corner of her deep, dark blue eyes. "So, this mood swing thing you have going on? Does it happen often?" She flinched slightly at the glare I gave her. "Just asking."

"...Increasingly, yes," I finally answered, rubbing my eyes free of tears with my thumbs from under my glasses (since I didn't wear a mask on the job, the glasses are kinda mandatory; I can see perfectly fine without them). "Okay, I'm a wimp."

"That's for sure."

"Oh, thanks," I scoffed, nudging her shoulder a little. She laughed under her breath and nudged me back.

We sat there in silence for god-knows-how-long, watching the trees at the end of the lot sway back and forth, before I finally lifted my phone up to my face to check the time. It was quarter after one, and I still had to eat before I got home, because, frankly, I'm starving. I sighed, rocking on my heels to bring myself up to my feet, before pulling off my glasses to rub them on the bottom of my shirt. "Well, I'm gonna go now..." I mumbled, slowly making my way back up the hill.

"Wait!" Artemis called, jumping up and jogging after me. "Where are you going?"

"To get something to eat...and then I'm gonna head home. Why?" I rose my eyebrows at her, surprised. Why would she care?

"Uh, no reason..."

"Do you...want to come with?" I offered awkwardly, shrugging my shoulders. "I'll look much cooler than if I ate by myself if you do."

"Yeah," she paused, as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "That sounds good."

"Cool. I'll just go tell Ollie we're leaving while you get your stuff together," I smiled congenially and slowly backed up again. "Just meet me by the door."

She nodded her affirmative, and went down to put her arrows back in her quiver at the bottom of the hill. I watched her, still a little shocked at the events that had just transpired. _Well, the rest of today will certainly be very interesting._

* * *

><p>"So," Artemis began, hanging off the edge of my couch as we watched reruns of Japanese ninja competitions on the TV. "You and Roy, huh?"<p>

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, my gaze not wavering from the TV, where a fat man had just fallen into mud. This show is awful, I noted for future reference.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about," she teased. She pulled herself up from the ground and swung around to sit cross-legged facing me. "I've seen the pictures."

"We're friends, if that's what you're hinting at." Please let that be what she's hinting at.

"Right, right," she agreed condescendingly. "And I'm the Queen of England. Don't try to deny it, Tess, you _like _him."

"I do not."

"Yes you do! He even took you to prom last year!"

"Okay, how the _hell_ do you know that?" I gasped. Who told her? "And we went as_ friends_."

"Ollie has so many pictures of you two together around the house. Seeing you two together litterally makes me sick."

"You're awful!" I was trying so hard to not laugh; I couldn't help myself. For some reason, the thought of Roy and I together making Artemis sick was hilarious. After a few more minutes of trying to quell my laughter, I finally managed to turn and give Artemis the most sincere look I can muster. "You know what's fun?"

She regarded me with unease, "...What?"

"Hanging teenage hoodlums by their ankles." At her confused look, I felt compelled to add. "This is getting boring; you wanna come with me and do just that?" The smirk on her face said all that needed to be said, and we both rushed up the stairs to get our costumes back on.

This was the beginning of a beautiful, dysfunctional friendship


	10. Chapter 10

_August 8, 6:13 PM, Star City _

"Why. Wont. You. Freaking. Start?" I growled, banging my fists on the dash of my car. It was an old Chevy Monte Carlo that had definitely seen better days – days without me driving it. I wasn't a bad driver, per se, but for some reason, this piece of crap seemed to hate me, and it's consecutive days of working were dwindling to about 2 a week. And this was _not _a good day for me to have to go through this. I was already behind and I had to be at the Mt. in a few hours for a mission of some sort. "I'm sorry, baby. Will you please start?" I apologized quickly, turning the key in the ignition with my fingers crossed. No dice. "Oh, so that's how you're gonna be."

Sighing, I opened the door and slid out on to the sidewalk, staring down at my ugly green car with a disappointed expression. "You know, Monty," I began, touching the hood fondly. Yes, I have named my car. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd work. I really, really would. You see, I've got to get to the hospital to see –"

"Are you talking to your car?" the ding of the coffee shop door and a bemused voice, one that I recognized instantly, talking behind me made me jump out of my slight stupor and whirl around.

"Roy?" I asked, surprised. Don't know why I'm surprised, this is his favorite coffee shop in Star City...I would know, he's taken me to it a _billion _times.

"Hey, Tess," he greeted leisurely, taking a sip from his coffee. Gesturing to the car with the cup, he smirked slightly. "Car trouble?"

"Nah," I replied dryly, before I could stop myself. "I just like yelling at Monty for funsies."

His mouth twitched, "Well fine then, I won't offer to give you a ride to...wherever it is you're going." It was then that I noticed his red convertible parked right in front of mine. My observancy skills are impeccable, you may applaud me now.

I gave him my best ASPCA commercial puppy look – the one that he falls for every time – and clasped my hands together in front of me. "Please?" I pouted, tilting my head to the side a little. "I was just going to the hospital..."

His expression softened a considerate amount, and he began to walk towards his car and jumped over the side and into the driver's seat, leaving me on the curb. Well crap, I was hoping that that had worked. Guess not. Roy paused, and leaned over to open the passenger door, before glancing back at me. "Well? Are you waiting for a formal invitation, or..."

I'm sure my face lit up like a Christmas tree as I quickly grabbed my bag out of my car and locked it behind me, before sliding into the white leather seat. Roy took that as his cue to start the car, and we immediately started to go as fast as the limit allowed us. Wanna know the best thing about convertibles? It's too damn loud to hear someone speak when you're riding in one with the top down, so it's pretty easy to ignore the proverbial elephant currently making a home in the backseat.

Within twenty fun-filled minutes, Roy was turning into the parking lot of Star City General. Instead of simply driving up to the entrance like I expected, he actually ended up parking the car and went in with me. In response to my question look, he simply shrugged and replied that he had nothing better to do.

We walked up to the desk, where an elderly lady I had come to known as Mrs. Whitby sat in her floral scrubs, talking on corded phone. She glanced up and smiled kindly at me, before gesturing with her finger to wait. When she finally put the phone down and let out a relieved sigh, she gave her full attention to me.

"Relda Flynn?" I shrugged, already knowing she would let me up anyways. I see her more often than I see my school friends.

"Go right ahead, honey," she replied, gesturing to the hallway to her left. "You know the drill."

I nodded politely at her, and tugged on Roy's arm to get him moving towards the elevator. When we arrived on the right floor, I wasted no time in walking briskly to the door number that I had memorized. It was open, and two young nurses were standing at the foot of the bed, conversing about something that I'm almost 100% sure didn't relate to the room's current occupant in any way, shape, or form. They both looked up when we entered, eying Roy with a slight smirk, before walking out. He watched them walk away, bewildered, before offering me a comforting smile.

"I can leave, if you want a moment alone with her," he said, gesturing with his head towards the bed. I shook my head, smiling in return, and clasped him on the shoulder before moving to the side of the bed and sitting on the chair. He took the one farther from the bed, against the wall at the foot, and sat patiently while I grasped her hand.

"Hey, mom," I greeted softly, moving to brush her fading blonde hair out of her face. The same motionless expression on her face that had been there for the past 9 years didn't move with the contact, but it hardly made me feel anything. Like I said, it's been like this for a long time. "Long time no see," I added jokingly, trying to ease up some of the tension in the room. It seems the elephant has left us alone for now, repelled by the calm air of the room. "I've been pretty busy with hero work and all that. Did you know I'm on a team now? It's pretty great. Remember Robin? He's there, and so is Kid Flash and Aqualad. You wouldn't believe what happened on our first solo mission..."

Roy watched Tess talk to her mother as if she was conscious with an awed expression. This little blonde girl, who had been through the ringer and back again, was now openly showing him the one weakness she seemed to have. He felt honored to be there, if not a little uncomfortable, and was perfectly content with listening to Tess recount all the events that had happened since the fourth of July. He noticed that she skipped around parts regarding him, but when the topic – apparently – became unavoidable, she simply said quietly, "Me and Roy? Well, we've got some things to work out," and directed her mothers attention – or lack thereof – to Artemis, GA's new partner. The thought of that didn't effect him as much as it usually did, and he chalked it up as part of the room's overwhelmingly peaceful quality.

In fact, he had already almost forgotten the Doctor he was currently hiding in Happy Harbor High School..._Shit. _"Tess, I...you...we need to go," he muttered, quickly leaping to his feet. The blonde jumped, whirling around to give him a shocked and confused look. "Aren't you supposed to be at the cave at seven?"

"Sh—crap!" she quickly amended, eying her mother like she would simply wake up and tell her off for cussing. She grabbed her bag off the floor, kissed her mother's forehead, before sprinting out the door. "We need to go!"

Roy sighed, shaking his head and following her, albeit a little slower. "Didn't I just say that?"

**YOU, GOOD SIR, DESERVE A PAGE BREAK HEEEAAUUUHHHRRRE **

"Artemis," GA announced, much to Roy's displeasure. "She's my new protege."

"What happened to your old one?" Wally, or as he would apparently like to be called, 'The Wall-Man' responded indignantly. That boy has such a bro crush on Roy, sometimes I wonder if it even measures up to my o...Wow, how about that weather we're having? Crazy stuff...

Red and I walked in, both dressed in our costumes that we changed into on our way here (don't ask, it's way too complicated). "Well for starters," he began, as the computer chimed in with the announcing of our arrivals. "He doesn't go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow."

"Roy..." Ollie began, stepping away from Artemis to greet his son. "You look..."

"Replaceable," he interjected.

"It's not like that; you told me you were going solo."

"So why waste time in finding a sub?" Roy laughed. "Can she even use that bow?"

"Yes, she can," Artemis replied, getting up in his face. Oh god, I didn't even realize how much they were going to hate each other until just now. This may or may not be a major setback on the whole 'let's all be best friends' plan I had going since my last talk with Artemis yesterday. Dammit.

"Who are you?" Wally jumped in angrily.

They both mumbled something about her being his niece, which I'm sure nobody really believed. Roy obviously would know the difference, having been with Ollie since before he could ride a bike, and so did I, but just by the way they seemed so defensive about it you would have to have no sense for you not to notice something was up. We'll have to work on that.

"Another neice?" Robin snorted.

"But she is not your replacement," Aqualad said, walking up from behind Roy and I to place a hand on his shoulder. "We have always wanted you on the team. And we have no quota on archers."

"But if we did," Wally began, making me want nothing more than to punch him in the throat. "You _know _who we'd pick."

"Oh for the love of..." I groaned, gesturing to Artemis. "She's right freaking there, Twinkletoes! Discreetness is so _not _your power."

"Whatever, Baywatch." Artemis brushed it off as if it wasn't a big deal. I knew it was. And where the hell did that nickname come from? "I'm here to stay."

Aqualad decided that a fight will most likely escalate from all of this, and moved the conversation along, "You came here for a reason."

"Yeah," Roy agreed. "A reason named Doctor Serling Roquette." Within seconds, Robin was spewing out random facts and projecting holograms throughout the room of said doctor like a human supercomputer.

"Nanorobotics genius and electronics expert in Star City," he read off the page on his holographic watch. "Disappeared two weeks ago."

"_Abducted _two weeks ago," Roy corrected. "By the League of Shadows."

"Whoa! You want us to rescue her from the League of Shadows." Probably not.

"Hardcore!" Wally grinned, fist pounding Robin.

"Already rescued her." See, told you. "Only one problem; the Shadows have already coerced her into creating a weapon. Doc calls it the fog, comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel...flesh, bone." Artemis and I exchanged worried looks. This was obviously getting worse and worse as he continued. "But its true purpose isn't mere destruction; it's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons of strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech –"

"Perfect for extorsion, manipulating..." Artemis interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sounds like the Shadows."

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Wally snorted. Artemis smirked knowingly at him. "Who _are _you?"

"Roquette's working on a virus to render the fog inert," Roy continued, and I noticed he was trying not to smile at the two's exchange.

Robin's eyes widened behind his mask, "And if the Shadows know she can do that –"

"They'll target her," I finished for him. "Do they know?"

"For right now she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab." I love how we're talking about her like she's an object.

"You left her alone?" Ollie asked.

"She's safe enough for now," Roy answered.

"Then let's, you and I, keep her that way."

"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protege?" GA opened his mouth to say something else, but Batman placed a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. "You brought this to the team; it's their mission, which means it's hers now, too."

Roy scoffed, striding past us all. "Then my job's done." I grabbed his arm when he walked past me, and he went to shrug me off, but I kept my grip tight. Glancing back at the rest of the team for a moment, I then pulled him down the hallway towards my room. The double doors slid open and I shoved him inside. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Just...chill out for a second, okay?" I hissed, running my fingers through my windswept hair as I paced in front of him. "Let me think about this."

"Think about what, exactly?"

"If I want to apologize or not!" I stopped pacing long enough to stare angrily up at his surprised face, before starting up again. "I really, really want us to be friends again, but you're making it _so _hard."

"Yeah, well..." he sighed, seemingly losing his fervor to oppose me. "I really want us to be friends again, too." He sat down next to me on the bed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I, hesitantly, laid my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I began, quietly. "For everything."

"Yeah," he agreed, resting his chin on my head as I turned to hug him around the waist. "I'm sorry, too." Well, this certainly went a lot better than I expected.

We sat there, holding each other in silence and simply enjoying the small moment of peace we had in our rocky friendship. It was definitely different for me, being able to simply hug him and never have to let go – at least, not for a couple more minutes. My eyelids slid closed in both tiredness and content, and I didn't even notice the door slide open until the sound of a granola bar hitting the floor shocked us out of it.

Breaking apart, we turned to stare at the intruder – Wally, with his mouth open wide enough for us to get a full view of its mushed contents. "What the..." he began, grasping for words but not finding any. "I don't...even..."

"Get out, Wallace!" I thundered, jumping up from my seat and pointing towards the door. He made to run away, but I grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him in. "Say _anything _about this ever again, and I will make it my personal duty to guarentee you will _never _have children, _ever._"

The redhead gulped and, swiping up the granola bar from the floor, nodded ever so slightly, before sprinting out of the room.

"Damn," Roy whistled, watching him practically leave skid marks on my carpet. "You're really scary when you're mad."

I shrugged, smirking. "I try."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Alright, so I finished this thing last night, but this site decided to be an ass and it locked me out of my document manager. Thankfully, they finally got it working and I can give to you the next chapter! Woo!**

**Thank you guys infinitely much for helping me go over the 50th review mark. It gave me the best feeling ever and urged me to write more (that, and I had the day off Wednesday because my school caught on fire).**

**Just to let you guys know, I _do _know why Wally was called Baywatch by Artemis (in reference to the old tv show Baywatch, in case any of you didn't know that yourselves), but Tess didn't because she missed the conversation.**

**I won't talk anymore, and just let you read the chapter. Don't forget to review!**

_August 8, 9:53 PM, Happy Harbor_

Less than an hour later, Roy had left, and the team and I took the bioship down to Happy Harbor High to guard Roquette. Miss M and Superboy were patrolling the perimeter while Robin, KF, Artemis, and Aqualad were in the room with Roquette. I was currently wandering aimlessly throughout the hallway, taser in my hands just in case. My echoes bounced effectively off the walls, telling me that there was currently only six of us inside.

"_Miss Martian," _Aqualad's voice came over the comlink between us all. _"Link us up. We do not want the Shadows intercepting our com"_

"_Everyone online?" _Megan's voice asked in all of our heads a moment later.

"_Gotcha," _I replied, strolling towards the back doors to go outside.

"_Ugh, this is weird," _Artemis marveled.

"_And distracting,"_ Roquette added. _"Coding a distributed algorithm virus in a kiddie computer with less RAM than a wrist watch is hard enough, now I have to hear teen think in my skull?"_

"Somebody's_ a whiner,"_ I bit back before anyone else. _"No wonder Red left us with you; he probably got sick of hearing you complain."_

"_Yeah," _Kid began._ "Do you always complain when someone tries to help you?"_

"_Pot, kettle, have you met?"_ Artemis said, making me snort as I dove into the bushes.

"_Hey, hey, I do not need attitude from the newbie who took Red Arrow off the team!"_

"_That is so not on me!"_

"_Fate of the world at stake!"_

"_She started it!"_

"_I'm going to come back up there and finish it if you two don't shut the hell up!" _I growled as I pressed my fists to my temples to stop my head from throbbing. _"Do you know how hard it is to set out waves with my_ mind _when there are people arguing inside of it? Very hard."_

"_Fine," _Artemis sighed. _"Why don't I just go help you patrol the perimeter, then?"_

"_Good idea," _Aqualad said.

"_I'm out by the basketball court."_

"_You might wanna cut her some slack," Robin addressed Kid as soon as Artemis left the room. "It was her arrow who saved your butt against Amazo."_

"_What? No! That was Speedy's, I mean, Red Arrow's...arrow, right?"_

"_Not so much."_

"_It was freaking green, dude,"_ I added. _"Not much else to it."_

Wally groaned, pouting, "_Yeah, well, I'm still not giving her the satisfaction."_

"_You know, I can still hear you!"_

"_Argh!"_

"_I couldn't get the Justice League!" _This doctor lady is really starting to get on my nerves – and everyone else's, for that matter.

"_The virus wont be of much use if we cannot find the weapon,"_ Aqualad began. _"Can you track it?"_

"_My utility fog is not a weapon; it's science, brilliant science. And, of course I can track it, but then I'd have to go on line. Might as well rent a billboard with this address and assassinate me written in neon."_ Sure it's not murder, lady?

"_We will protect you."_

"_...Tracking fog now."_

"'Bout time you showed up," I said to Artemis as she appeared beside me in the bushes.

"I took the long way around," she hissed back. "Let's go find Miss Martian." We ran around to the front, where M'gann was crouched at the entrance of the fence. Superboy was nowhere in sight.

Artemis crouched down wither her bow drawn as I hung farther back, sending echoes to make sure we were still alone. 4 people in the immediate area, check. Suddenly, a large thunk was heard, and I turned to my right, only to see Superboy standing up from a crouch. _"Jesus!" _I shrieked. _"Don't scare me like that!"_

"_Sorry," _he sniffed, rolling his eyes as he walked away.

Artemis watched him leave with a devious smirk on her face. _"Mhm, that boy."_

My mouth dropped open, along with Megan's, in shock. Superboy turned around slightly, confused as I choked back laughter._ "He can hear you, you know!"_ Miss M gaped. _"We can _all_ hear you!"_

"_Oh, I know." _I snorted, wishing very much that I could make an inappropriate comment inside my head without the rest of the team hearing it.

"_Miss Martian, Doctor Roquette has located the fog; reconfigure the bioship so that Robin, Echo, and Superboy can proceed."_

Miss M raised her hand and within seconds, the bioship appeared in front of us, spinning around and landing with it's back door open. _"Ready."_ I took a running leap onto the ship and slid into my seat, Robin and Superboy following suit. _"Good luck."_

Robin hopped in the captain's chair and pulled up schematics on his watch. He was finally able to track the fog's next target, and we were heading towards Philadelphia, where he claimed it would be next. The ride there was silent, save for the occasional sigh from Superboy and me tapping my fingers on the control panel to my left. I yawned slightly, and when I opened my eyes I saw STAR labs in the distance.

"Robin to Aqualad," Robin began, speaking into the com instead of the mindlink. "We're over Philadelphia. We've located the Shadows next target: Star Labs.

Something was clearly up, as it's lights, which were just shining brightly a moment ago, suddenly flickered off. "Guys, look," I commanded, pointing to the building. Within seconds of my exclamation, the entire structure began to rumble and collapsed in on itself. "Oh god, we're too late."

"It's destroyed!" Robin gasped. "Totally destroyed; the fog decimated it. This is bad, Star Labs is cutting edge science, and now their secrets are in the hands of the enemy. What's our next move?"

"Rescan for that fog," Aqualad answered. "Find it. We're moving the Doctor."

* * *

><p>Robin sat up straighter as we came upon the massive skyscraper that was Wayne Tower. "Next target's a Wayne Tech facility. In theory, its system software could be used to hack the –" He froze, mouth snapping shut as he realized just what crucial information he was about to reveal. <em>The <em>_Batcave? Shit,_ I groaned inside my head, thankful Miss M's mind link couldn't reach as far as where we were now.

"The what?" Superboy asked.

"Doesn't matter," he replied, looking away for a moment. "What matters is that Wane Tech operates a 24 hour work force. We'll never evacuate the building in time."

"Maybe if we destroy the fog while it's inside, we won't have to," I suggested, as we stood up and made our way to the back of the ship, while eying the van that had just pulled up in the parking lot directly across from the tower. The side door slid open, revealing Professor Ojo with a large box I'm sure was where the Fog was coming from.

"Downloading!" Robin called from farther back while Superboy and I stood at the opening.

"Down there," I pointed to Professor Ojo.

Superboy took one look at him, before jumping off of the ship, "Don't need it!"

"Wait! Supey!" I watched with an open mouth as he landed in the parking lot. Ojo ran his thumb along the top of the machine and shot a laser beam out of his 'eye' on his helmet, making Superboy fly back. The pod opened up and a fog filled with tiny grey particles floated up, flying toward Wayne Tower. "Crap!" Without another thought, I whipped out my grappling gun and flipped off the back. The rope hooked onto one street lamp, and I retracted it as I flew to the next one.

I heard Robin shout "No!" from behind me, and knew that he was following suit. We landed at the same time, and sprinted through the hole the fog made in the doors of facility, shoving past workers.

"What the...?" a security guard behind a desk gasped, but we ignored him as we chased after the fog. "Hey! You kids can't be in here! Unauthorized entry!"

I groaned, cursing under my breath as an alarm sounded and a gate began to drop down in the hallway. "Wayne Tech override rg-4!" Robin shouted, speeding up and sliding under the gate, which was beginning to rise. I followed suit without a second thought, thankful that I wouldn't be crushed today.

We took a turn onto a stairwell, and I shot my grapple gun up to where I last saw the fog. I shot up at least 20 levels before swinging onto a platform and wrenching open a door. "Where's the nearest computer?" I shouted to Robin as he followed me down the hall.

"Cafeteria!" he hollered back. "Turn right!"

I skidded into the room, where a brunette lunch lady was standing, watching as the ceiling began to crumble away with the thick fog. Robin pulled a cord out from his glove and connected it to the computer. "What's going on?" she asked, frightened. I opened my mouth to answer, but faltered, seeing as I had absolutely no clue how to answer that to a civilian.

"Please be linked to the mainframe, please be linked to the mainframe," Robin chanted, tapping furiously on the hologram. I stood on the opposite side of the counter, pushing the woman so she would get under the table and out of harms way. The screen suddenly went red for a moment, before it returned to its normal blue color. We all looked up and saw the once-grey fog fade to red, and the tiny bugs all dropped to the floor, dead.

"Yes!" Robin cheered, high-fiving me "The infiltrators have been outfiltrated!" We beamed at each other, until I realized something.

"Superboy!" I gasped, and we ran over to the window, only to see him fighting against the beam coming out of Ojo's helmet. He had one hand in front of his face, walking slowly toward the villain until he got close enough where he could press his hand against his face. Ojo crumpled to the ground, and hit his head, knocking himself unconscious. "Woo!" we cheered. "Go Supey!"

The clone looked up at us, shirt torn from the blast, and gave a sheepish thumbs up.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I know this chapter should contain some smexy Roy, but alas, it does not. It is indeed quite boring, but I wanted to write it 'cause Klarion is an annoying, yet badass mofo and writing him makes me all sorts of happy. After the next chapter (splitting it into two parts, yo) it's Downtime, and I'm pretty sure I could shove him in there somewhere. I've also got a pretty specially special surprise in the form of a thing I like to call an OC Contest. **

**What? An OC Contest? Yes, fictional reader, yes an OC Contest! Make sure you watch my profile for details and submission rules!**

**(And a little secret: I favor those who review... ;D)**

_August 19, 7:39 PM, Happy Harbor_

"Recognized: Echo, B04." I walked into the cave, towel wrapped around my neck and drawstring bag and water bottle in hand from gymnastics practice, only to see – a shirtless – Superboy and Aqualad circling each other in the ring. Raising my eyebrows, I made my way over to wear Artemis and Megan were standing. "Uh, any reason Superboy has his shirt off?"

"Does he need a reason?" Artemis snorted.

I hummed, watching as he and Aqualad ran at each other. "No, I guess not. That boy _is_ nice to look at."

"But, Kaldur's nice, too. Don't you think?" she asked, directing the question more at Miss M than me while I took a sip of water. "Handsome, commanding, you should totally ask him out."

"He's like a big brother to me," she answered. "But you know who would make the cutest couple? You and Wally!"

My eyes widened at that and I gasped, spluttering profusely and spraying water everywhere. I coughed and pounded on my chest, gasping for air through my peals of laughter. Just watching him eat that burrito was enough to keep any female being away from him for a thousand years!

"You're so full of passion and he's so full of, uh –"

"It?" Artemis finished, making us all giggle. That is, until Superboy flung Aqualad onto the ground hard, making the fail sign pop up next to him.

"Black Canary taught me that," Superboy grinned proudly, brushing off his hands before going to help Aqualad up. I smiled, reminscing in the first time I used that move on Roy.

Suddenly, the ceiling of the cave opened up, and Red Tornado flew in, landing in the ring. He took one look at all of us before turning and walking toward the hall. Wally wasn't having that, though, and quickly ran in front of him. "Do you have a mission for us?" he asked eagerly.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." It's always weird to hear people call him 'the Batman.' You know what I call him? Bruce. No 'the's about it. That's like calling me The Echo. It just sounds weird!

Obviously, Wally thought so, too. "Yeah, well _The Batman's _with _The Robin _doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham, but you're heading somewhere, right?" he grinned cheasily. "A hot date? Or a _mission?_" Sometimes I wanna punch him in the face. Just one hit, I'm sure nobody will stop me.

"If we can be of help," Aqualad added. Red Tornado stood there for a moment, before turning around and typing something in to a keyboard. In front of him appeared a large picture of an old man wearing a suit, a cane in his hand.

"This is Kent Nelson – a friend," he added. "He is 106 years old."

"Guy doesn't look a day over 90," Wally whispered to Artemis, and she rolled her eyes.

"And he has been missing for over 23 days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentor's Justice League." The image changed from Kent to Doctor Fate, making both Aqualad gasp.

"Of course," he began. "Nelson was Earth's sorcerer supreme. He was Doctor Fate!"

Wally scoffed, turning to Artemis and I. "More like Doctor _Fake. _The guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."

"Kent may simply be on one of his...walkabouts," Tornado continued. "But he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, the source of the Doctor's mystic might. And it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."

"He is like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses on Mars; I would be honored to help find him," Megan said.

Wally's hand shot up faster than I've ever seen in my entire life. "Oh! Me too! _So _honored, magic...rocks." Artemis and I rolled our eyes.

"Take this." Red Tornado held up a strange looking key, and Aqualad grabbed it from him. "It is the key to the Tower of Fate."

"What are the chances we both so admire the mystical arts?" Wally grinned, sidling closer to M'gann.

"Pretty slim, I'd say," I muttered to Artemis, and she laughed quietly to herself as we made our way to the bioship. Once M'gann had taken off and we were headed toward Salem, where Kent's house was located, Artemis turned to Wally.

"So, Wally," she began. "When did you first realize your _honest affinity _towards sorcery?"

"Well, I try not to brag, but before I became Kid Flash I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."

"I call bullshit," I whispered to Artemis, who nodded.

"We have reached Red Tornado's coordinates," M'gann announced, cutting off our conversation. "But –"

Superboy finished for her, "Nothing's there."

"Take us down," Aqualad ordered as she landed in a parking lot. We all exited the ship rather quickly, and Kid Flash immediately began a sweep of the area while I pressed my fingers to my temples, concentrating on finding buildings. As far as I could tell, the grassy lot in front of us was empty.

"I can't find anything," I muttered, my eyes still closed as I searched again. "Kid?"

"Nothing," he replied once he skidded to a stop in front of us. "This isn't simple camouflage." That's because it's magic.

"So, what do you think?" Artemis asked. "Adaptive micro-optive electronics combined with faze shifting?"

"Absolutely...not," Wally quickly amended as M'gann walked up. "Clearly mystic powers are at work here."

Aqualad suddenly walked in front of us, his arm outstretched with the key in hand. "A test of faith," he muttered, stopping and turning his hand. A loud click sounded throughout the area, and suddenly, out of completely nowhere, a large door appeared. Along with that wooden door, came an amazingly tall tower that you could barely see the top of if you were standing at ground level. It was magnificent.

We walked inside, and the door closed behind us. I turned around, only to see the door had disappeared, leaving us trapped in this medieval castle-esque room. "Door's gone," I hissed, at the same time as Superboy asked,

"Uh, where'd the door go?"

A holographic image of Kent appeared in front of Aqualad. "Greetings," he said, voice ringing loudly as if he were here in person. "You have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."

"We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate!" Wally announced, walking forward. Kent gave us a condescending and sympathetic look, before he suddenly disappeared.

"Please tell me that that didn't work," I began. "Because if it did...GAH!" The floor crumbled away under our feet, sending us flying down to a pit of boiling lava. I fired my grappling gun quickly, hovering just above the surface, while Artemis shot her crossbow and grabbed Kaldur. M'gann flew up and grabbed Wally, leaving Superboy to grab along the edges. His feet sunk into the lava, and he let out a pained cry, before glaring down into the lava.

"Those were my favorite boots," he growled, taking my outstretched hand so we were both secured on the rope. "This Nelson guy better be worth it."

I tried clicking the button to make the line retract, but it didn't. "Oh crap," I muttered. "My lines stuck. We need to find a way out of this, now." I looked to my right, only to see M'gann sinking.

"Having trouble...maintaining altitude. I'm so...hot," she gasped, looking faint.

"You certainly are," Wally grinned.

"Wally!" both Artemis and I groaned.

"Hey! Inches above sizzling death; I'm entitled to speak my mind!"

"My physiology and M'gann's are susceptible to extreme heat," Aqualad said. "We must climb out quickly."

"Hello Megan!" M'gann panted, still finding the energy to hit her forehead. "We never truly answered the question. Red Tornado sent us to see if Mr. Nelson and the Helmet were safe!"

With the last word she spoke, the floor closed up over the lava, and Superboy and I gladly hopped down off my rope. "This platform," Aqualad muttered as soon as he landed. "It should be red hot, but it is cool to the touch."

"I got you Megalicious," Wally smirked, wrapping his arm around M'gann. Artemis growled, stomping forward and pushing him off of her.

"Enough!" she shouted. "Your little impress Megan at all costs game nearly got us all barbequed!"

"When did this become my fault?"

"When you lied to that...whatever it was and called yourself a true believer!"

"Wally," Megan began, her eyes narrowing. "You don't believe?"

He hesitated a moment, before sighing. "Fine, fine! I lied about believing in magic! But magic is the real lie – a major low!"

"Wally, I studied for a year at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis," Aqualad spoke, still feeling the ground. "The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers."

"Dude, did you ever hear of bio-electricity? Hey, in primitive cultures _fire _was once considered magical, too. Today, it's all just a bunch of tricks."

"You're pretty close-minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers," Artemis accused.

"That's science! I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and _here I am!_ Everything can be explained by science!"

"You sound like you're in denial," I snorted.

He rolled his eyes at me, "I'm not in denial, I just know the truth while you guys refuse to believe it! _There is no magic!_"

"Then let us test your theory," Aqualad remarked, and grasped something, pulling his arm back to reveal that it was a hatch.

"Wait!" Wally shouted. "The backdraft from the lava will roast us alive!"

A blast of cold air and snow lifted up into the room, making me shudder. It almost seemed like it was snowing upward. "It's snow!" Megan grinned.

Artemis quickly got over her shock so she could smirk at Kid, "Do you ever get tired of being wrong?"

Kaldur leapt through the hatch, followed quickly by the rest of us. What seemed like would be a downward drop twisted so we flew in parallel to the ground. I landed on my butt in the snow, after Kid, and turned around to look at the entrance, only to see it disappear in a blast of light.

"Well?" Artemis prodded, hand on her hip.

"Ever heard of string theory?" Wally retorted immediately. "We're in a pocket dimension."

"What's that?" M'gann asked, pointing to a floating staff in front of us.

"I recognize that from Tornado's picture of Mr. Nelson," I mumbled, walking closer.

Wally rolled his eyes and stepped forward to grab the staff at the same time Artemis did, "Ooh, maybe it's Nelson's magic wand."

"I got it!" Their hands grasped the cane simultaneously. A strange noise filled the air and they tried to pry their hands off of it, but to no avail. "I can't let go!" Suddenly, the cane shot up in the air, with both Artemis and Wally still attached to it, and disappeared into thin air.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Alright, guys, this is the moment of truth. If you have submitted an OC to me I would like to say thank you so much! It's people like you guys that help keep this story from going on a permanent hiatus. But, alas, after many hours of 'oh god, who do I pick?' with my sister, we have finally come to a decision. The winner is...**

**JadeDragon220's character Mallory Winchester!**

**She will have her debut in the next chapter, which will also have tons of Roy :) Yay!**

**Okay, you can read now. But don't forget to review! **

You would think that in a magic dimension that holds snow, it would have a magical normal temperature. Nope. We've got real snow that's real cold, which is slightly problematic for me. I was the only one in our small group without an immunity to crazy low temperatures, and I think it's safe to say that my thin cardigan wasn't going to hold any body heat I possessed before.

So, in other words, I was freezing my ass off.

"I don't understand Wally," M'gann spoke after a while of us just walking in silence. Well, they walked, I kinda did a hunched over, shuffling motion that made me look like Quasimodo with the sniffles. "It's like he needs to believe the impossible can't happen."

"Wally uses his understanding of science to control of what he cannot comprehend," Aqualad explained. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestige of that control."

"What the...?" I heard a strange noise, and looked up at the top of one of the mountains, only to see a door open. "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder..."

M'gann picked up Kaldur while Superboy grabbed me, and we quickly made our way to the door. I was so happy to finally be getting out of the cold, I was practically crying all over his chest. "Yes!" I shouted, hugging him as we traveled through the door. "Warmth! Solid ground! Oof!" We fell to the ground in a heap. Artemis ran over to us and helped me up.

"You're freezing," she muttered, touching my arm.

"You're telling me," I bit back while my teeth were still chattering

"Friends of yours?" I heard Nelson ask from somewhere.

"Friends of yours?" I turned to see Wally and Kent drop to the ground to avoid a blast from a strange pony-tailed guy with a way too low cut shirt, who was standing next to a boy I recognized all too well.

Another lightning blast directed at us made our group separate, and we watched as Kent walked up to a giant bell and hit it with his staff. The bell glowed, and for some strange reason, Mr. Nelson and Wally were able to walk through it. Klarion immediately levitated up and followed.

"We meet again," pony-tail guy beamed at me in a way that made me shiver. I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about, making me confused enough to not really notice him send another bolt of lighting at me before it was too late. "Ah, Athene, I expected more out of you."

"What?" I hissed, body still shuddering from the electricity while I struggled to stand. I wailed, making him skid back a couple feet before he regained his balance. "What did you just call me?"

Artemis fired her bow while Aqualad drew his water bearers and ran at him. We, without much thought, attacked all at once, but he fended us off easily. Using some sort of electric nets, he was able to trap Superboy, Aqualad, and I.

_'Wally, we're in trouble,' _Megan called, trying to fend him off as he trapped Artemis, too. _Tell Kent we need Doctor Fate! _She screamed and dropped to the ground alongside us.

_Oh, we are so screwed._

* * *

><p>Wally's eyes widened as he heard M'gann's plea for help inside of his head, while Klarion continued to bombard the forcefield placed around him and Nelson. Glowing red claws sunk into the forcefield, and it was only a matter of time before it collapsed altogether. He glanced down at Kent, who had collapsed and was slipping away minute by minute, before looking up at the helmet floating above them. "A test of faith..." he muttered to himself.<p>

"Hey dumb kid!" Klarion called, ripping apart the forcefield. "You put that on you may never get it off!"

A blast of red magic flew toward him, and Wally slammed the helmet onto his head. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer on the roof of the tower, but in a dark room.

"Okay, okay, no problem." Panicking, he looked around for a way out. "I'm not here. I'm just delusional."

"You still don't believe?" Nelson laughed, stepping into the spotlight that shone on Wally. "Seriously, kid, how did you get so bullheaded in fifteen short years?"

"B-but you're...you're..."

"Yep," he cut him off breezily. "But don't feel bad. As soon as this little brouhaha is over, my spirit will ascend, and I'll be reunited with my beloved Inza."

"O-oh. Okay..." he paused. "Wait, does that mean that I'm –"

"Ah, you're alive," Kent reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But your soul no longer controls your body. See, we're inside the helmet. You put it on, and my soul got sucked in. Probably because I spent so many years serving its master."

"Master?"

"Nabu, the real Doctor Fate. One of them Lords of Order I told you about. He's the guy controlling your body now. Wanna watch?"

_It truly was an out-of-body experience, watching Doctor Fate battle Klarion. The Lord of Chaos was getting angrier and angrier by the second, due to the ease of which Fate was able to hold him off with his shield that had the shape of an Ankh. _

"_Give it up Nabu!" Klarion yelled, hurling balls of red energy at the Lord of Order. "Order went out of style in the 20th century!"_

"_This battle is pointless!" the host of Wally's body said, his normal voice taking on the undertones of Nabu's far deeper one. "You sought to take the helmet before it gained a host, but you are too late."_

"_Shut it, you old fart!" Pillars of rock from the tower rose up and slammed into Doctor Fate on both sides. The bright gold image of the Ankh burned through, and the rock exploded, revealing a relatively unscathed Nabu._

"_Brat," he growled, and conjured up a blast so powerful that it reduced Klarion to dust. It wasn't the end, however, for within seconds, the boy reassembled himself and attacked him from behind._

Wally screamed, dropping to his knees as he felt the same pain as Nabu. "What gives?" he asked, turning to look at Nelson.

"Well, it is your body," he replied cordially, as if commenting on the weather.

"Then let me control it. With Fate's power and my speed –"

"Sorry, kid. It doesn't work that way, but you can see why I haven't put on the helmet in 65 years."

Wally froze, a sudden, horrifying thought coming to him. "And if Fate _loses_ this fight...?"

"You see Inza before I do."

_Klarion conjured up a flaming dragon made of Red Magic, and it flew towards Fate, roaring. Nabu barely had time to dive, ducking to the ground as it flew over him. He formed a shield to berate against the animal's attack, and it dissolved once it made contact. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of turning his back on the warlock, and was blasted in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground._

_The Lord of Chaos smirked at his fallen opponent, and made guns with his hands, shooting energy at him like they were bullets. Fate threw up another shield, but the attack was too strong, and it crumbled to pieces quickly. He flew away to avoid the fire Klarion breathed at him, trying to get close enough to attack, but was once again hit by a pillar of flames._

"_You're out of practice, Nabu," Klarion grinned once he hit the ground, rolling. "And that pathetic host body? Zero affinity for the mystic arts." He raised his hands, calling upon a lightning storm to strike the fallen sorcerer. Nabu threw up his arms to form another forcefield, closing his eyes in concentration to keep it from breaking. _

"_Ooh, rainbow power," the witchboy remarked appreciatively at the lights sparking from the force of the lightning on the forcefield. The cat beside him meowed loudly, and he rolled his eyes. "I am paying attention, you stupid cat. In case you haven't noticed, _I'm winning."

_That was all that Nabu needed to hear, and the forcefield exploded around him, extinguishing the lightning and forming a ring of fire around himself. "It is difficult for a Lord of Order or Chaos to maintain a presence on the physical plane."_

_Klarion's face morphed into a far more demonic one as he called upon more energy and began to throw fire at him once more. Fate flew upwards and easily dodged each ball, taunting the boy as he did so, "I am bound to the helmet and use a human host." The fire stopped coming, and Fate threw another golden Ankh at the Lord of Chaos, only for it to be blocked by a wall of rock. "But that is not your way."_

"_Your babbling, Nabu!" Klarion shouted._

"_Am I?" he taunted, and conjured a blast of golden energy, knowing his target wasn't paying attention. Klarion threw up a shield to protect himself, but he did not count on Fate knowing his weakness._

_Teekl hissed as the blast of energy hit her, making her fly up and land on the ground with a dull thud. "Teekl!" Klarion cried out, before turning on Nabu. "I can't believe you would assault a defenseless pussycat!" _

"_We both know that creature is no cat, Witchboy," he replied, eyes narrowing. "And without your familiar, you have no anchor to this reality." Klarion's image flickered, and he froze a moment._

"_Bully!" he called out once his physical form returned to normal. "Killjoy! Geezer!" He disappeared into a portal just as another beam was thrown towards the cat, and he reappeared right above it. Klarion quickly picked up Teekl, eying Nabu fearfully, before shouting, "We're out of here!" and disappearing with strands of glowing black light._

* * *

><p>I could block out the pain from the electric nets, that wasn't the problem; I've dealt with enough high concentrations of electrical shocks to know the feeling well enough for me to be able to control it. The others, however, were in visible agony and I couldn't help them because of a stupid <em>net. <em>And the worst part was that Abra Kadabra was just standing there with that stupid smirk on his face, relishing the fact that he had us right under his thumb.

I swear, when I get out of here, I'll...what the heck?

A bright flash of light blinded me for a moment, and when I could finally see, the shocks of electricity were no longer there. I looked up, shaking hair out of my face, and saw Abra Kadabra standing before us in only his underwear and a gold necklace. Ew.

Superboy stood up, along with the rest of us, and walked right up to the so-called magician. "Show's over," he said, and punched him in the face hard enough to knock him out. It was over, thank god.

* * *

><p>"Yeah!" Wally cheered. "That's how we kick it on the earthly plane!" He paused, waiting for the tugging sensation to pull him back out into the real world. "Uh, it's-it's over, right? So, why isn't Nabu taking off the helmet?"<p>

"Because the Earth needs Doctor Fate," Nabu said, the helmet floating above them as a personification of himself. "I will not release this body."

"He can't do that! Can he do that?"

"He can, but shouldn't," Kent replied. "Nabu, this is not the right candidate. The kid's soul belongs to the world of science, not sorcery."

"True," Nabu agreed. "But I do not appreciate being permanently hidden away, useless, isolated for decades at a time. Chaos must not be allowed to reign!"

"That wont happen again. The boy will take the helmet and make sure you're put to good use."

"Yeah!" Wally agreed quickly. "I swear!"

"And in the meantime, I'll stick around, keep you company," he glanced down at Wally, who stared at him in shock.

"Wait, what happened to you ascending? And seeing Inza?"

"So you believe now, huh?" he grinned. "Don't sweat it, kid. I'll spend a few millenia here, then see Inza. That's the great thing about eternity, it's eternal."

"The bargain is acceptable," Nabu said, as he prepared to take the helmet off of Wally's body.

"Some free advice before you go," Nelson began, turning to Wally. "Find your own little spitfire – one who won't let you get away with nothing. For example, that –"

A bright white light blinded Wally, and he didn't get to hear the rest of his sentence before he found himself once again on the roof of the tower, helmet in hand. He walked over to Nelson and knelt down by his side, before gently enclosing the pocket watch in his open hand.

It was over.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So, today I decided that I ship Aquamis (SeaArrow, for some of you) like a freaking crazy bitch. What does that have to do with this? Nothing, absolutely nothing at all. If you're wondering what's taking me so long to post (it really hasn't been that long, though), I've found a new best friend in Tumblr. I made an account and am following basically all YJ blogs under the sun. Why? Because I can! Follow me if you want, and I'll start putting progress updates and shit about this story. **

**I also posted a pic of Tess in her civvies on my DeviantArt page, just in case you wanted to know.**

**Oh! Right! Here is the intro to Mallory (JadeDragon220's character), and a whole crap ton of Roy and drama! The villain towards the end is a creation of my lovely kid sister, bless her, because I needed help and she likes being generally evil. If you can, review not just about the content of this chapter, but on Hydros, too, because I know that it will make her **_really, really_** happy :) Really.**

_Mount Justice, August 27, 7:58 EDT_

"I need to talk to Aqualad," Batman spoke as we stumbled into the cave, covered in clay after our failed mission. We were investigating suspicious activity in a warehouse in Gotham City when Clayface showed up and attacked. Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Superboy, Robin and I were able to stay standing for only a few minutes before being knocked unconscious by his heavy blows. Aqualad, apparently, was the last one standing, but even he couldn't match up to the monster of a man, and Batman had to swoop on and save us. Had I known that all it took to disable Clayface was electricity, I probably would've done something. "The rest of you, hit the showers and head home."

"Head home?" Superboy snorted as he walked passed. "I _am _home."

I groaned, pulling chunks of clay out of my hair on the way towards the showers, limping slightly from the blow I had received early on in the fight.

"Tessa," a voice called from behind me, and I turned to stare at Batman, the owner of the voice. "I need to speak with you, too."

I nodded, biting my lip, before brushing my way past the others to head to my room and pack my things.

* * *

><p>"Do you know anything about these?" Batman asked, pulling up images of various buildings all across the nation. He pointed the one labeled 'Star City.' "That one was found one block from your house."<p>

There was an imprint of a lightning bolt on the brick, and I traced it with my eyes, mouth open. "I haven't seen..." I took a deep breath. "No, Bruce, I've never seen those before in my life."

"I thought as much," he sighed, rubbing his face as he showed emotion for a second. "They've been showing up increasingly around certain areas, but there is no evidence of vandalism on any of them. It's almost as if they've been –"

"_Burned into the brick?"_ I finished for him, hugging myself around my stomach.

"Exactly. The League has been looking into it, but we haven't found the perpetrator. Should it be who I suspect it is..."

I could feel my posture stiffen and my eyes narrow at his hidden accusation. "Impossible. He's dead."

"He disappeared, Tess," he corrected, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Two different situations. There was no evidence of his remains..."

"It doesn't matter," I growled, glaring at him as moved away from his touch and backed up towards the transporter. "He died and that's the end of it."

The last thing I saw before the blue flash of light carried me to Star City was Bruce's sympathetic, worried look.

* * *

><p><em>Star City, August 28, 8:12 PDT <em>

_(3rd Person Because I Can)_

"Alright, it's eight o'clock on a goddamn Saturday, who the hell is that?" a groggy voice groaned reaching blindly for the phone that was surely somewhere near her. When her black varnished nails finally tapped against the screen of her own cell phone, Mallory blearily opened her eyes and brought it up to her face, wiping off some of the drool that had accumulated overnight. "What?"

Tess mumbled something unintelligible under her breath that sounded a little like 'hamster army,' and rolled over so she was sitting up on the armchair she had crashed on the night before. "Who is it?" she asked, yawning obnoxiously. The small purple phone was thrust in her face a moment later.

"It's for you," Mallory smirked. "Roy-boy says it's urgent."

Her eyes immediately shot open and she looked completely alert. Snatching the phone out of her outstretched hand, she eagerly put it on speaker and dropped it onto the pile of fashion magazines next to her.

"Tess?" Roy called.

"No duh," Mallory snorted, before continuing sarcastically, "I gave the phone to my brother. Who else would it be?"

"Cut him some slack," Tess laughed.

Roy groaned. "You put me on speaker?"

"Anything you're gonna say to Tess, you can say in front of me, bub."

"Something tells me one day you'll regret that statement."

"But that day isn't today, so carry on!"

"I _was_ going to tell you that there's a carnival in San Francisco and see if you and Mal wanted to go but apparently you're busy making fun of me, so..."

"Well, _somebody's _a drama queen," Mallory retorted, rolling her eyes. She paused, rethinking her actions. "I'm rolling my eyes right now, by the way."

"Oh, I could tell."

"We'll be ready in a bit, Roy," Tess answered, drawing them from their argument. Her friend looked up to see her already dressed in her tank top, jeans, and cardigan, searching through her bag for her other sock.

"Buh-bye, Roy-boy!" Mal quickly ended the call before he could retort, before turning to Tess. "You get dressed fast."

"I've had a lot of practice," she shrugged and jumped up triumphantly, waving the sock in the air. "Yes! Found it!"

"You're so weird." The elder blonde sighed, before throwing herself off of the couch and onto the floor. She stumbled into her room and pulled out a t-shirt and jeans, before moving into the bathroom with Tess to brush her short hair. "Wait, is Roy gonna pick us up?" she asked after a moment, turning to stare at Tess while she very nearly poked herself in the eye with an eyeliner pencil.

"Probably," she answered. "He has a habit of doing that."

Thunderous footfalls began to descend the staircase, making them both jump slightly and rush to put away their things. Jace, Mallory's seven year old brother, slid onto the carpet outside the bathroom with a big grin. "Roy's here!" he announced, grabbing her hand and tugging her up the stairs. "C'mon Tess!" he called back.

Roy was crouched on his knees by the door, talking about planes with Tony while he waited for the girls to come up. The boys were completely enraptured with the archer, taking in everything he ever said to them and storing it away in the depths of their minds. Without much of a primary father figure due to Mal's parents being divorced, most conversations at the dinner table started with "Roy said..." and was usually followed by something Mal and her mother had most likely heard a billion times before. Anna, Mallory's mother, was okay with it, mostly because he set a good example for her sons and kept them occupied.

"Ready?" Roy asked, accepting Tess's hug without a second thought, while Mallory stood by with a knowing smirk on her face. He stuck his tongue out at her over the top of Tess's head, and she mimicked him in response.

"Yup!" Tessa answered cheerfully, not noticing the exchange as she pulled away with a bright smile on her face. They teens, after promising the boys they wouldn't have too much fun without them, made their way out to the convertible. "Shotgun!"

"Dammit!" she cursed, before sliding into the backseat. "You know, you're really lucky that your dad offered to pay for this, Roy."

He glanced at her in the mirror, but said nothing as he started the car and pulled away from the curb. Tess turned around and gave her a warning look; Ollie was definitely a touchy subject for him, and the last thing they wanted was to deal with a pissy Roy for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>"No, I'm not going on the roller coaster," Tess repeated for the hundredth time, glaring at Roy and Mal from her bench. She had been refusing to move from her spot on the bench, despite her friends pleas. "It's dirty, and rickety, and rusty, and the scary man operating it looks very shifty to me."<p>

"C'mon, Tessa!" Roy pleaded.

She pouted, crossing her arms and turning her head away from him. "I am disinclined to acquiescence your request."

"What?"

"She says no," Mallory snorted. "But she was trying to sound smart about it because she's whining like a _five year old."_

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

A loud explosion made them both stop, and they all jumped up to see the aforementioned roller coaster collapse in a puff of smoke. Civilians everywhere began to run around in panic, racing towards the exits and shoving each other out of the way without a second thought. "I would say I told you so, but..." Tess trailed off, eyebrows furrowing as she dodged a particularly large woman. "I don't think it was the poor craftsmanship and lack of repairs that made it collapse."

"Let's go check it out," Roy replied, and the three of them ran to the scene, fighting against the current of people to where the ride used to stand. No one was on the ride at the time, thankfully, but there seemed to be a figure emerging from the smoke. "Who is that?"

"I, am the great and powerful Hydros!" he shouted, his large form finally becoming visible from on top of the mound of what was now scrap metal. "Bow down to me and accept me as your ruler!"

"This guy's a little full of himself, don't you think?" Mallory muttered as they slowly backed around a corner and away from his sight. "I mean, he can't be that –" a bright green laser beam shot out past them. "Okay, never mind."

"Do you have your bow?" Tess asked, turning to Roy. He nodded, already unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his costume underneath. She quickly followed suit, pulling her own over her head and grabbing her jacket from her bag. "Mal, I need you to make sure everyone is evacuating the area carefully. I can't imagine everything is running smoothly."

"Aw," she whined. "I wanna watch you guys kick ass!"

"Go!" the blonde growled, stuffing the last of her things back into her bag, including her glasses as she pulled her hair out from it's ponytail. "Now!"

"Fine!"

Tess turned to Roy, who was already strapping on his quiver. "Do you think we should call the League? Or the Team?" His deadpan look made her falter, and she bit her lip. "What about your uncle?"

"Guardian's busy with Cadmus, and I'm not calling the League," he replied as he placed his mask over his eyes. "We can do this on our own."

She sighed, looking nervous and unsure as she avoided his eyes. "...If you're sure."

"I'm sure." He strode forward and grasped her forearms, kissing her forehead. "Trust me," he said, before grabbing his bow off the ground and peering around the corner of the ticket booth they were hiding behind. A blast of green energy made him tumble backwards. "Shit."

When he turned around to give directions to Tess, she was already climbing to the roof of the ticket building, prepared to strike. He rolled his eyes as she wailed loudly, vaulting Hydros through the air as she caught him by surprise. The bulky man flew into a go-cart arena and crashed into one of the cars, but stood up from the crushed vehicle unscathed, with an evil look in his eye. "Oh, look," he grinned. "It's Baby Canary. Or should I say, Athene?"

"Alright," she groaned, flipping off the roof as he stepped out of the ring and stalked across the lot. "Why do people keep calling me that?"

"You don't remember?" Hydros asked, looking surprised. The look was immediately replaced by a devious smirk as his body suddenly split, creating two of himself. The bodies kept duplicating until she was surrounded. _"Allow me to remind you."_

All twelve of him launched themselves at her, making her panic. She wasn't use to being attacked on all sides like this. Roy shot arrows as best as he could at the clones, which were piling on top of her, and when they landed, their targets simply vanished in a cloud of smoke. With only one of him left, Tess was able to free a hand and punched him, before kicking him in the stomach with her feet. He flipped off of her, and she scrambled away, rushing toward Roy, who stepped protectively in front of her.

"And look, it's Speedy!" Hydros laughed, coughing a little from the blow to his stomach before straightening out and resuming a commanding pose.

"Red Arrow," Roy hissed, shooting an arrow at him. Their opponent split in two to avoid the arrow and sent them a cheeky grin.

"He's like a freaking Clayface part two!" Tess hissed. "The only way to defeat him without electricity is if we..."

"Cut his head off?" Roy guessed dryly, turning to look at her over his shoulder. They both ducked to avoid another beam of energy.

"No," she replied, plucking an arrow out of his quiver. She handed it to him, and he noticed it was one of the freezing arrows. "We freeze his ass."

"And how is that going to work?"

"I get him to split and you shoot the clones."

"How are you going to do that?" He blinked, only to see her running in the opposite direction.

"Run, Red!" she shouted, sprinting through abandoned booths. "Hey fugly! Can't catch me!"

Hydros growled, his face darkening with rage as he split into eight more of himself, two going after Roy, while the others went after Tess.

Tess grinned when she saw six of him running after her, and looped around the buildings a few times, dodging the blasts from the original Hydros as Roy played target practice with the clones. He had already frozen the two that came after him, and was simply picking off the others one by one. When the last one was no longer chasing her, Tess whirled around and let out the biggest scream she could muster, shattering all of the frozen 'statues.' Hydros' eyes widened, and he grasped his chest as he sunk to his knees. Roy grinned and smashed the two near to him, finding great satisfaction in the way it seemed to be easily weakening their opponent.

"Damn," Mallory whistled, walking onto the scene with a smirk. "You really gave it to him, didn't you?"

"Well," Tess began as she flipped her hair exaggeratedly. "You know me."

"Mind if I do the honors?"

"Be my guest."

Mal's face broke out into a devious grin as she sauntered over to the fallen villain and reared back, nailing him in the crotch. He howled in pain and fell backwards as Roy winced. "Don't mess with my day, bitch," she growled, waving her finger at him threateningly before stomping away, barely paying any heed to the shocked looks of her friends. "He's all yours. Get him out of my sight."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Happy April Fools Day! Although I seriously thought it was a cruel joke when I checked the amount of reviews today. Holy amazing viewers, Batman! We only need 3 more to make it to freaking 100! Oh my, arshgrsh I can't even...you all rock. Each and every single one of you who faved, alerted, and especially those who reviewed deserve a hug. Not just any hug, though. A Red Arrow hug. And we all know that's the best kind! :)**

**Don't forget to review and make this a 100 review fic, my lovelies. And don't hesitate to ask me any questions, either. After all, there are no stupid questions (just stupid people). That about sums it up. Read on!**

"Hello?" I called out, stumbling over my feet as I walked across a desert in the middle of nowhere. I had absolutely no idea where I was, what I was doing here, or why I was dressed like this. What had happened to my bodysuit? "Anyone? Hello?"

I noticed a cloud of sand rise up in the distance, and squinted my eyes as I walked towards it. Maybe whatever it was would be able to tell me what's going on. Loud voices began to shout to each other in a language I've never heard before as a large jeep began to drive towards me. There were three men inside of it, two holding guns while the third drove. Once they caught sight of me, they automatically pointed their guns and started to fire.

"Shit!" Dodging bullets as they hit the sand behind me, I sprinted towards a rocky mountain formation to my left and climbed upwards as fast as possible. Panting, dehydrated and tired, I peered over the side of the cliff and saw them drive by, barely paying my spot any heed. I let out a sigh of relief and slumped over, hitting the rocky ground with a thud as I caught my breath.

"Echo?" a voice said from above me, and I opened my eyes to see a masked face peering down at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Robin?" Grinning, I threw my arms around him and held him close. "You don't know how happy I am to see you."

"Yeah...okay," he slowly pushed me away after hugging back for a second. "Two questions, though. One, what are you wearing? And two, why were Bialyan Naval Officers chasing you in a land rover?"

I glanced down at the bustier and tights I was wearing and crossed my arms, shrugging. "No clue. I've got a question: what are Bialyans doing in..." He showed me the map from his watch. "Bialya?"

"Better question: what are _we _doing in Bialya?"

I caught sight of the date below his map, and my heart froze, "Whoa whoa whoa wait, it's September? What the hell happened to March?"

He reached his finger toward his comlink in his ear, "I better radio Batman."

A flash of Batman telling me something went through my head, and I grabbed his arm before he could. "Bats said to maintain radio silence at all times."

"...Or not." Robin sighed, glancing over the edge of the cliff before flipping off, landing gracefully on his feet below. I followed, with much less grandeur, stumbling a little before catching myself on a rock below. When I turned around, he was holding a torn piece of black cloth in his hands.

"What's that?" I asked, peering over his shoulder, before noticing a large red Superman symbol on it. "The Boyscout's here?"

"I don't think so. This doesn't look like his uniform."

"So that means...?"

"An impostor."

"Regardless," I spoke after a few moments of silence as we let his sentence sink in. "We're going to need to find shelter or something, because I have a feeling that there's more angry Bialyans where that came from."

* * *

><p>"I don't know why I put a GPS marker here," Robin whispered as we ran across the sandy land that was Bialya. Thankfully, my new costume gave me taller boots, and I didn't get any sand in my shoes like I used to. Glancing up, I saw that there was a large case of some sort placed not too far from where we were. Robin grabbed my arm and yanked me down behind a sand dune. "Huh, guessing that's why."<p>

"Well, let's go check it out!" I replied, leaping into the clearing. Robin was right behind me, and began to walk towards the box when a ton of guys dressed in Bialyan uniforms lifted out of the sand. "What the...? Where the hell did they come from?"

One man shouted something in Bialyan, and the lot of them charged at us on all sides. Robin threw down a smoke bomb, kicking up sand and giving us enough time to take out the men without them shooting at us. I grinned, spinning and delivering a roundhouse kick to one man's jaw before screaming at a group of them. They clutched their ears, dropping to their knees as Robin shot ropes at them. He flipped over one's shoulder and twisted around, hitting two others with his feet in the process. I helped him up, thinking we were done as the smoke cleared, but flipped backwards as bullets rained down on us.

"I'll hold that," a voice said as a blur of grey and red zoomed around the Bialyans. "Thanks!" I squinted through the dark to see Kid Flash standing there with a cheeky grin, holding the five guns. He ran at one man while Robin and I sprinted towards the others, kicking two in the chest. Kid dealt with one more, and we spun around to see the remaining two fly back with an invisible force.

"What was that?" I shrieked, and Robin pointed up to the sky, where a green skinned girl wearing a similar costume to Martian Manhunter materialized out of nowhere. Something whizzed past my ear, making the three of us turn to see a green arrow expand into a rope and wrapped around a fleeing Bialyan's legs. A blonde girl wearing a green costume that reminded me of Green Arrow's smirked, putting down her bow before walking down the dune to meet us.

"KF!" Robin grinned, clasping Kid Flash's hand. "Man it's good to see a familiar face!"

"Hey Rob – and Echo! Loving the costume," he winked, and I flipped him off. "Memory loss?"

"Six months!" Robin groaned. "Let's hogtie these creeps and compare notes."

* * *

><p>"You're saying we," I gestured to the five of us together as we listened to Miss Martian, Manhunter's apparent neice. "We're a team?"<p>

"The five of us and Superboy," she explained.

"Than this must be his," Robin said, holding up the cloth that we had found.

"Yes! Did you see him?"

"Just his shirt..." I trailed off, confusedly. What had happened to him?

"I think we did!" the Green Arrow look-alike, Artemis, gasped.

"Feral boy?" Kid Flash asked. "Some teammate. He tried to attack us."

"He didn't know who we are. _I _don't know who we are."

Robin sighed, shaking his head. "I remember Batman commanding radio silence. The team must work for him!"

"How do you know we don't work for _my _mentor?" Kid began indignantly, tapping the symbol on his chest. His costume changed from black to yellow, making him gasp. He grinned, pressing the button. Curious, Artemis and Robin copied him, but to no avail.

"We look ridiculous!" Artemis growled, before turning on KF. "Quit touching yourself!" I snorted, biting my fist to stop the peals of laughter from leaking through. "Ugh, we need our memories back."

A flash of white blinded me for a moment, and suddenly the four of us were standing in a completely different area. Swirls of colors surrounded us, including small clips of what appeared to be memories flicking in and out. A white form appeared in front of us before the mass took shape to reveal Miss Martian.

"I've brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far," she said. "But I need your help. Together, our broken memories can form a whole if you open your minds to mine."

"You want to paw through our private thoughts?" Artemis glared, crossing her arms.

"I have no wish to intrude, but –"

"You need to hack our minds to figure out what happened to us, got it," Robin cut across her with a smirk. "Go."

"My brain's all yours," KF grinned. "Try not to let it's brilliance overwhelm you."

"Or _underwhelm _you," the boy wonder added. "Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

"Because it isn't a word, Birdbrain," I smirked, crossing my arms. My eyes widened and I put a hand to my head. "Whoa, deja-vu."

Artemis, throughout this entire exchange, seemed to be having an internal battle. She was obviously having doubts about having Miss Martian rifling through her head like a file cabinet, as was I. It wasn't until Kid Flash stepped forward and took her hand did she finally speak. "Last six months only," she complied. "And only what you need."

"Echo?" the Martian girl spoke, turning to me for my input.

I sighed, shaking my head. "The same goes for me, Green Girl. I don't want you tampering with things I've got locked away, got it?"

She nodded, looking relieved, and closed her eyes as she raised her arms. Four glowing arms shot out of her body and clasped onto our foreheads. Flashes of fast-forwarded images ran through my head as I began to realize what was going on.

"_The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert," Batman said, gesturing to a holographic map of Bialya behind him. "Spectral analyses revelaed elements non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened to that sight, what landed there."_

_A frame of the group of us standing there made me gasp. The memory seemed to be in Robin's point of view, with me, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, Artemis, and one I recognized as Superboy standing there._

"_Bialya is a rogue state," Batman continued, the image changing from the map to a picture of a woman. "Ruled by Queen Bee, and not a member of the League's UN charter. All communications are subject to interception, and maintain radio silence at all times."_

The memory changed settings back to the desert, with Robin looking through his binoculars. Superboy was hauling a crate down a dune while I walked around with my hands pressed to my temples in an effort to sense anyone trying to ambush us. _"All clear," _memory-Robin said, before a flash of light ended the memory.

"_The Bialyans control the sight," Artemis said with the four of us - KF, Robin, Artemis, and I – in view as we crept over the side of a cliff and spied on a camp below._

"_What do we do now?" I whispered, turning around to address an unknown person._

I didn't receive my answer, as the memory switched again to Superboy. A voice I didn't recognize spoke from where none of us could see.

"_Set up here," he said, and Superboy nodded, unstrapping the large box from his shoulders. _It was the same case that Robin and I had come across not too long ago. _He twisted the nob on the side and the machine expanded into what looked like a computer-type-thing._

_Robin walked forward and knelt down in front of the small screen on the side and began to tap away on the keyboard. "We'll be up and running in no time," he said, with KF peering over his shoulder._

"_Jackpot!" the redhead grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "The site's lousy with zeta-beam radiation."_

"_I'm detecting the non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent."_

"_I'll go check it out in camouflage mode," Miss Martian said, pulling up her hood._

"_Good idea," the voice I didn't recognize said. "Go."_

"_Be careful," Superboy advised, talking to M'gann. She finally looked over and we saw a dark-skinned __male in front of us._

"_And maintain telepathic contact," he added._

"_I will, Aqualad." _

"Aqualad!" we all gasped in unison as the memories finally linked together. "Where is he?" Robin asked. "What happened next?"

"I don't know!" M'gann frowned. "That's the last thing I – we remember."

"We landed over 24 hours ago," Kid Flash began, and I noticed that he and Artemis were no longer holding hands. "If Kaldur's been wandering the desert for that long, well...it's not good for a guy with gills." That was when the full reality of the situation hit us all. If we didn't find Kaldur, and soon, he could very well die out here.

"Now that I know to look for him..." Robin trailed off, pulling up the map again. A red blinking dot appeared close to where I knew we were. "He's close! But he's not moving."

"Then we need to get going," I muttered, sprinting in the direction that the map depicted. The others followed close behind, until we skidded to a stop at a rocky valley, where Aqualad lied, unmoving. Without an incentive from the team, I slid down the side and knelt beside him. I quickly pressed my fingers to his kneck, under his gills, to feel his pulse. He had one, thank god, but it was faint.

"Tula, _lihs_-soh-meh…ah-gah-_pah_-oh seh..." he mumbled, eyebrows furrowing.

"He's okay," I breathed, feeling a wave of relief washing over me. The team crowded around the two of us, and M'gann dropped to her knees in my place. "He's just unconscious."

"I can't restore his memories in this condition," M'gann frowned.

"He needs an immediate rehydration," Robin said. "Call the bioship."

"It's out of range." She turned to Wally. "But you can get him there fast.

He sighed, shaking his head. "He's too heavy, and I'm too low on fuel. Right now, I couldn't even carry her." Artemis pushed his hand away, scoffing.

"Why not just levitate him back?"

"I can't," she answered quickly, setting Aqualad back down on the ground, before standing up. "I have to find Superboy. Six months ago he didn't even _exist. _He has no memories, just animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him."

"You're also the only one who can help Kaldur," I interjected angrily. How could she just leave at a time like this?

"Superboy's indistructable," Wally added. "Just ask those tanks. It's Aqualad who needs your help, like now."

"He'll die if you don't!"

She suddenly gasped, clutching her head. "No!" she shouted. "Superboy's in pain!" Before we had time to protest, she flew off.

"M'gann wait!" Artemis called, but it was already too late.

"We still don't know what erased our memories!" Robin shouted. "It could happen again!"

I let out a strangled groan and kicked a nearby boulder. "Well, this is just freaking _peachy!_ Now what?"

"Now, we find the bioship," Robin sighed, already wrapping canvas around two poles to place Aqualad on. The four of us lifted him up and onto the cot and began to drag him. Robin led the way, a map to the bioship projected in front of him, while the three of us pulled Aqualad. That is, until a low rumbling made us stop.

"Over there!" Robin directed, and we quickly jumped behind a large rock. Dust kicked up as two landrovers drove past us.

"Tula...dih-_na_-meh-tha _eh_-tih ehn Atlantis sim-bih-_oh_-se..." Aqualad mumbled.

"Shh, Kaldur," Artemis whispered, placing a hand on his forehead. "Quiet now."

Robin and I peered over the side of the rock formation and saw at least six armed officers stalking across the terrain. "We can't risk a fire-fight with Aqualad KO-ed like this."

"Ugh, it's not just him," Kid panted. "I'm way out of juice."

"Echo, c'mon." Robin gestured over his shoulder for me to follow him, and we sprinted along rocks around the officers. He quickly produced three exploding disks, the motion-sensing kind, and placed them on the ground out of their sight. I followed his lead and stuck my own onto the sides of the rocks surrounding the area. We continued until we were almost out of disks, and began to run back to the others once footsteps approached.

"I forgot how truly annoying you are," Artemis rolled her eyes, just as Robin and I vaulted over the rock and landed beside Kaldur.

"Yeesh," Robin groaned. "Get a room!"

"Dude!" Kid exclaimed, glaring at us. "Where were you guys?"

"Oh, you know," I began, leaning back against the rock and lacing my fingers behind my neck. "Breaking radio silence."

Robin's childish laughter echoed everywhere and a loud explosion racked the area. Smoke billowed over our heads and we jumped to our feet. "That's our cue," Robin said, and we quickly grabbed the cot. "Move!"

"Where's the bioship?" I asked, keeping up with his pace while we sprinted across the desert.

"The Bialyan-Quarac border," he answered, checking the map. "It's not too far from here. Just a couple more...there!" My eyes followed his hand and saw a blurry fog on the ground. As we approached, the bioship turned around and returned to its normal, red form, and dropped it's hatch. We quickly moved Aqualad inside and one of the seats morphed into a bed.

I rummaged around in the bag we kept full of first aid items and produced an IV drip bag and collapsible pole. Artemis held Kaldur's wrist for me while I slid the needle in and taped it over. He jolted slightly, but quickly went back to being inert. Artemis grabbed a cloth from me and used it to wipe his forehead.

The two of us continued to watch over him like that for the next half an hour, until M'gann's voice echoed throughout our heads. "Hey everybody!" she greeted, sounding incredibly happy. "I've got Superboy! He's back to normal and we're on our way!"

Aqualad suddenly shot up, the cloth falling off of his head, and his eyes widened at the sight of Artemis. "Who are you?" he demanded, moving to get out of the bed, but she gently pushed him back down. "And how did you get inside my head?"

"Hello Megan!" Miss Martian gasped. "Aqualad's memories! I knew I forgot something!"

"Aw man, me too," Wally groaned. "I didn't get a souvenir from the mission!"

"Don't worry, we've got the souvenir thing covered."

And that is the story of how we got a giant, robotic ball for a team mascot.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So I'm cranking out these chapters faster than I thought! Well, it's mostly because WE'VE REACHED 100 REVIEWS OH MY GOOD GOLLY GOSH and I've been so excited for this chapter that I wanted to get started on it as soon as I posted the last one. Why? Well, reader, you're about to find out. Let's just say that a few things you've been waiting for finally happen.**

**BekCholie**_: Do you watch the episode over again and write down everything it says or what happens, or do you look up the script?_ **Mostly I use the episodes (I have all of them saved in a file on my computer) and watch them in a side-by-side window with the word document. If there's a particular phrase that I can't catch, I'll google the quote before it, and usually I can find what I need. If I can't, than I just bs my way through it.**

**I'm always open to questions, guys! **

**Just to let you know, I'm expecting quite a few reviews for this chapter. You'll see why. ;)**

_(Sorry for the 3 updates, for those of you that are on my alert list [58!], but there were some glaringly obvious grammatical errors and a missing topic in the author's note)_

_September 7, 9:18 AM, Star City_

"Oh, first day of school, how I loathe thee," Mallory began dramatically, waltzing up to Tess's locker with a sort of perkiness that should be illegal for this time of day. Her friend's attitude was the polar opposite, it seemed, as when she finally approached her locker, the blonde seemed to be asleep with her face in between her Calculus and Literature textbooks. Rolling her eyes, Mal reached for the door opened it wider, causing it to slam on the next locker.

"What the f – Mallory!" Tess groaned, almost falling to the ground with her shock. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm waking you up, stupid! You're gonna be late for class!" Wiping the drool off of her cheek, Tess's eyes widened and she quickly began scooping her books into her locker.

"Fricking...oh god...first day...shit..." she was mumbling, jerking the zipper closed before sprinting down the hallway. Apparently, she wasn't paying much attention to where she was walking, and ran headlong into another student. She felt her balance leave her, and found herself lying on the ground, with a tanned face peering at her. He had a strong jaw with shaggy blonde hair that hung in his blue eyes, that showed concern.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, his voice sounding muffled in her ears for a moment. His large hand extended towards her, and she blindly reached for it. The stranger hauled her up without effort, before bending down and picking up the books she had lost.

"I'm really sorry about that," he apologized quickly, handing them back to her in a neat stack. "I should've paid more attention to where I was going..."

"No, it's my fault," Tess interjected, shaking her head. "I was the one who ran into you."

"True, but still," he grinned. "I'm Terry, by the way, Terry Osborne. I'm new here. And you are?"

"Tessa Flynn," she shoved the contents of her bag back in and slung it on her shoulder, before shaking his hand. "Under any other circumstance, I would say nice to meet you, but..."

He laughed, the sound reverberating throughout his broad chest. "I know what you mean. This may be the third time someone has ran into me today. Is there something wrong with the people at this school or am I just that attractive that I have people falling all over me?"

"Well, this school is full of idiots, so I'm going to have to say the former," she snorted, rolling her eyes.

"You couldn't give me the satisfaction, could you?"

Tess nudged his arm with her elbow and shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Well, is there a chance that you can help me find my next class?" Terry pulled the schedule from his pocket and unfolded it, holding it out for her to examine.

"Economics?" she rolled her eyes. "Looks like we're in the same class, Terry. We better get there before –" The trill of the bell ringing made her sigh and rub her forehead. "...the bell rings. Alright, let's get moving. Hopefully Mrs. DeMoore is just as blind as she was last year and wont notice us coming in late." Tess grabbed his arm and began pulling him down the hallway, missing the smirk on his face as he trailed behind her.

* * *

><p>"Why were you so out of it earlier today?" Mallory inquired as her and Tess walked to their table in the cafeteria. She glanced down at the people that were crowding around it and scowled. "Hey, fresh-meat. Scatter."<p>

They looked up at her with fear in their eyes and quickly disappeared into the far end of the room. Tess rolled her eyes, taking one of their seats. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Why do you have to be so nice?" Mallory countered, waving her fork at her.

"Touche."

"Back to my original question of why you were almost dead this morning..."

"I was helping Roy," she muttered, avoiding her eyes as she picked at her salad. "He's on a mission in Rhelasia and I was at the Mt delivering coordinates. I have my com with me just in case he needs me, but I doubt he'll call."

"Rhelasia?" Mallory repeated. "Isn't that the country that was on the news this morning? The Asian one with all the issues?"

"Yup."

"Huh."

"Mind if I join you?" both of their heads whipped around to see Terry standing there, a tray in his hands. He had an award-winning smile on his face, the kind that would have thousands of girls tripping over themselves at the sight of him – Mallory included.

"Of course!" she practically shouted, producing a chair out of nowhere and setting it down extremely close to herself. "Tess, why don't you introduce me to your friend?"

Tess's eyebrow rose in amusement, and she hesitated a moment – mostly to watch Mallory's facial expressions for a while longer – before speaking, "Well, Mallory, this is Terry Osborne. Terry, this is Mallory Winchester."

"Nice to meet you," he beamed, offering her his hand. She took it with a slightly dazed look.

"Likewise." Once Terry had turned to his food, Mallory gave Tess a wide-eyed look and mouthed _"Oh my god!"_ To which she responded by making a heart with her hands and a kissy face.

"So...Terry, how are you liking Star City East?" Mal grinned, lacing her hands together and placing her chin on them.

"Well, it's okay..." he began. "There are a lot of...interesting...people here."

"You can say that again," Tess grumbled, eying the cheerleader table with extreme distaste. Some of them were watching Terry, and scowled when they noticed her dirty look. "Bitches."

"I _am _looking forward to trying out for the football team, though."

"No!" both Mallory and Tess shouted. He jumped, eyes wide.

"What?"

"We can't lose another to the dark side," Mallory hissed, gesturing with her head to the 'popular table' Tess was just staring at before.

"The dark side?" Terry repeated, baffled and amused at the same time. "How many have you lost to this 'dark side?'"

"One too many," Tess continued before freezing as a beeping noise suddenly filled the air around their table. She reached a hand toward her pocket, which muffled the beeping, and she jumped to her feet. "I've gotta take this."

Once she had made it out into the hallway, she quickly looked to make sure no one was around, before stepping into the janitor's closet. "This is Echo," she muttered, holding her communicator up to her ear.

"_It's me," _Roy panted, before coughing slightly. _"I may, possibly, be in over my head."_

"I'm on my way."

* * *

><p>"The unification is unthinkable!" Singh Manh Li, the leader of North Rhelasia, shouted angrily, banging his fist on the table. The room flinched slightly, and Lex Luthor – the independent arbitrator – frowned.<p>

"Our peoples no longer have anything in common," Tseng, the minister of South Rhelasia, added.

"Gentlemen, this is mere rhetoric," Lex cut across smoothly with a calming smile. Both leaders stopped and turned their attention to him. I, positioned in the crowd in my civvies with Aqualad, muttered curses under my breath.

"Slimy...conniving...son of a bitch..."

"Despite your differences you still share an appreciation for many things. Such as, the exquisite art of the Rhelasian tea ceremony." The squeaking wheels of a cart made me turn around, and I immediately recognized the face of the server. Even under the facepaint and robes, I knew Jade's face when I saw it. Spending hours cursing a person's existence does that to you.

"That is far enough," Aqualad said as I turned around, scowling. "Cheshire." The group around us gasped and whirled to face us.

Cheshire's eyed widened a fraction, before she suddenly smirked and pushed the cart at me. I jumped backwards, taking a group of people with me, and dove for the columns of the room. Aqualad threw up a barrier of water while Roy, who was up behind the head table, docked an arrow and shot at the cart. An explosion racked the building and blew the windows out, almost sending Jade over the edge.

One of the columns I was near suddenly began to crumble. I froze in horror as I stared up at the statue, and found my body refused to move. That was it, it was going to –

Another body hit mine full-force and we were sent rolling across the velvet green carpet. I landed hard on my back, stars clouding my vision while whoever had saved me was positioned with both arms and legs on either side of me. "Echo!" he shouted over the chaos. "Are you okay?"

Roy? Roy had saved me? "Yeah, I think so," I groaned, staring up into his mask. "Thanks."

He grinned, leaning in slightly. "No problem..." Okay, our faces are really close now. Like, really, _really _close. What is he gonna do? Kiss me? That'll be the day!

"It's over, Cheshire," Aqualad said from somewhere in the room. Did it really matter where?

"You would think so," she replied, and suddenly a helicopter appeared where the windows used to be. Reality hit both Roy and I hard, and we quickly jumped to our feet to see Sportsmaster standing there with a group of masked men. They hopped onto the floor, and Sportsmaster took his time walking toward us.

_"Zhua tzuh sa so!"_ Tseng shouted, and the body guards ran forward to fight off the others.

"Take Sportsmaster!" Roy commanded Aqualad, drawing his bow. "Cheshire's mine."

"So territorial and only our third date," Cheshire smirked, drawing her sais.

"Date?" I repeated accusingly, glaring at Roy.

"I'll explain later," he replied. "Get after the others." I scowled at him for a moment before throwing myself into the throng, flipping over one man's shoulders and onto another. He went down easily, but tried to block me while I aimed for the knockout blow to his neck. One of Tseng's bodyguards clubbed his head, and I nodded as I flipped off of the ninja and ran at another.

"You called some of your little sidekick friends!" Cheshire remarked. "But didn't you tell me they weren't in your league?"

Aqualad and I both froze, giving the ninja an opportunity to throw me off of his back while Sportsmaster closelined my teammate. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a ball and chain, whipping it at Kaldur, who barely had time to roll over. Figuring the guards could handle the other ninjas, I sprinted to his aid and aimed a kick at Sportsmaster's side. He deflected it easily, and grabbed my ankle, throwing me into the head table.

Pulling myself out of the broken wood, I sent a glare at Lex Luthor. "Aren't you going to do anything?"

He simply stared at me, face void of any emotion. What the hell was his problem? Sure he was the bad guy, but honestly, these people tried to kill him earlier today!

"Not bad, lad," Sportsmaster began, staring down at Aqualad while I ran up to join him. "Better than your team did at Santa Prisca – or Bialya."

Our eyes widened. "How did you –"

"Let's just say I have an inside source – _very _inside." He turned to me, and I could tell from his eyes that he was grinning behind his hockey mask. "I'd watch yourself, Baby Canary. Word on the street is, there's a storm coming."

"Aqualad, Echo, let's end this," Roy shouted before we were all suddenly doused in water. The sprinkling system let off enough water to form a tidal wave, and just by looking at Kaldur's expression, I knew that's what he was thinking, too. I ran to join Roy on the pillars just as Aqualad raised his arms, water surrounding him in a cocoon. It morphed into a giant snake, which lunged at the ninjas, sweeping them up easily. Just as it was about to swallow Cheshire and Sportsmaster, Jade put on her mask and threw a smoke bomb into it's mouth providing enough time and cover for them to escape.

I coughed, doubling over with the effort to expel the smoke from my lungs. Just as I looked up again, one of the ninjas came flying over our heads, duel swords drawn and aiming to kill both leaders of Rhelasia.

"Mercy," Lex muttered, and his assistant raised her arm. The cloth of her suit fell away as the arm pulled apart to reveal a cannon, which fired at the assassin. He fell, unconscious, with the sword landing at his side. When the three of us turned around, weapons at the ready, the rest were gone.

Mercy's arm went back to normal and Luthor grinned. "Gives new meaning to the arms race, doesn't she?"

Both ministers sighed in relief and went to shake his hands. "That technology is most impressive," Singh Manh Li commended.

"We owe you our lives," Tseng added.

"They owe _him _their lives?" Roy repeated angrily.

I shrugged, glaring at Luthor, before sighing. "Does it really matter as long as they're safe?" I asked, heading towards the door. "C'mon boys, we've got a peace treaty signing to witness in an hour."

* * *

><p>"Yes, quite a coup for Lex Luthor," the reporter for GBS, Cat Grant, began, talking into the camera crew in front of her. Behind her, the treaty was being signed in front of the press. "Under his leadership, North and South Rhelasia are signing a treaty, which eventually could lead to reunification."<p>

Red Arrow, Aqualad, and I all shook our heads, before making towards the exit. Our jobs were done here, it seemed. "I can't believe we just did a solid for Lex Luthor," Roy remarked as we walked.

"Not for Luthor, for peace," Kaldur corrected, making me roll my eyes.

"Peace seems to be the last thing on Luthor's mind," I snorted as we walked outside. "Guy's getting money out of it somehow."

"Beyond that, if Ra's and the League of Shadows wanted to sabotage the summit, the signing of the treaty renders their contract moot. It is over."

"Is it?" Roy asked. "I heard what Sportsmaster said. Do you really think there's a mole on your team, feeding him intel?"

"I cannot rule out the possibility," Aqualad frowned, catching my eye.

"We will investigate – quietly," I added.

"Not tell them?"

"I do not want the unit unraveling under baseless suspicions. If there is a mole, I have no wish to tip him – or her – off," Kaldur said.

"Good luck with that," Roy smiled, saluting us, before turning to walk away. That was it? He was just going to leave? Jerk.

"One moment my friend. Tonight, you could've called Green Arrow for help, or the Justice League. Instead, your first instinct was to call the Cave."

"You're right," Roy sighed, turning around. "The Team deserves, has, my respect. I'm still getting used to this solo act stuff, but if you need me, I'll be there." Both boys shared a smile and shook hands.

I squealed behind closed lips and jumped on Roy, hugging him around the waist. "Oh, we're all friends again!" I cheered as he hugged me back slightly, before I pushed him off and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, Red, I always wanted to go shopping in Rhelasia!"

"I will see you back at the Cave soon?" Kaldur called, sounding amused even though I couldn't see his face.

"Yeah, okay!" I agreed, pulling Roy around a corner and out of his sight.

* * *

><p>"So, what was with the whole 'date with Cheshire' thing?" I asked awkwardly after another two hours of roaming the city with Roy by my side.<p>

He laughed, shaking his head and putting an arm around my shoulder. "Do you really think I'd do that to you, Tess?"

"Do what to me?" I repeated with a nervous giggle. "You can go out with whomever you want, my friend. Even if it is that she-witch_. _I can't stop you."

"No, you can't," he agreed, making my heart feel like a deflating balloon. "But maybe...maybe I want you to."

"You want me to do what?...I don't get what you're trying to say."

Roy sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder to get me to stop walking, and tugged me into an alley we had stopped in front of. I leaned against the wall while he began to pace. "What I'm trying to say is..." he trailed off, pausing, before starting again. "I'm not good at this, so bear with me."

"Roy, you're starting to scare me..." I said, eyebrows knitting together in confusion as I reached towards him. "What are you talking about?"

"Just, just stay still," he grabbed both of my arms and guided me back against the wall. "Don't move."

"Wha –" Before I could ponder his actions further, he yanked me to him and covered my mouth with his in a hungry kiss. I felt my body freeze in shock, before slowly responding, which surprised myself. When did I start to feel this strongly about him? His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips softer than I could have ever imagined...not that I spent a lot of time imagining such things. He tasted tentatively with his tongue, and I opened my mouth with an accidental low moan. He laughed slightly into the kiss, but gasped as my hands made their way to the front of his uniform and tugged him closer.

Suddenly, he backed up, making me release my grip on his shirt. His hand ran through his hair as he panted, looking everywhere in the dark alleyway except for me. "Oh god...I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" I repeated, laughing breathlessly. "Why are you sorry?"

"I just crossed a_ major _line," he answered, shaking his head as he backed farther away. "This needs to stop, now."

"I don't understand...Roy!" He had turned around, jogging down the alley until he was completely shrouded in darkness and I could no longer see him. I pushed off of the wall and sprinted after him, hands outstretched to grab him, but all I grasped between my fists was air. "Roy! Red Arrow!" It wasn't long before my palms hit a brick wall and I realized that he was really gone.

How could he do this to me? How could he just _leave _like that? After kissing me? What the hell am I supposed to do now? Just pretend like it didn't happen? "Goddammit!" I growled, punching the wall with as much strength as I could muster. When I pulled back, my knuckles were scraped and blood dripped down my hand. I winced, eyes tearing up at both the pain and my real emotions as I turned around and headed back for the mouth of the alley.

My hand, the undamaged one, reached for my communicator as I called for the only person I could think of in a time like this.

"Yes?" the person picked up after only one beep.

"Artemis?" I sniffed. "Can you set up a zeta beam from Rhelasia to the Cave?"

"Are you in Rhelasia?" she asked, bewildered, before pausing. "And have you been crying?"

"Yes and...maybe," I muttered. "Can we just not talk about it right now?"

"...Fine," she sighed. "But we _will_ talk about it when you get here. The transporter should be up on your left. It's a photo booth."

"Thanks, Artemis."

"No problem, Tess."

* * *

><p><strong>"Zhua tzuh sa so!" translates to "Stop the assassins!" in Chinese :)<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Oh my gosh we got a ton of reviews in for the last chapter, didn't we? I fucking love you guys! Do it again! lol**

**Okay, so I got this review not to long ago from** ytffan1995**, and I felt that I needed to reply to set things straight. I have a rather long response; be prepared. So, here it goes: **_Yep, I've seen the episodes, the finale, the whole shebang. A couple times, actually. I can even name two new members joining the team in season 2 along with the plot for the first episode. If you're on tumblr, this starts to become, unfortunately, common knowledge. Heck, I even know the person who was kind enough to sub some of the episodes. She's pretty cool :)_

_I know how much this story will be shot straight to hell once what you, I, and some others know comes to light with the actual airing of Auld Acquaintances, but after a couple hours of having a panic attack while relaying my feelings and totally fucked situation to LifeandSushi during the process, I've finally gotten over it. Yes, I will admit that for about an hour after I watched said episodes (they were about a week or less old by the time I got to the finale), this story was in serious jeopardy. I almost stopped writing it altogether because I'm a dramatic bitch. But, don't worry, ytffan1995, I've got it covered and this story will remain unchanged (albeit it will be shorter than my original plan).__ In a sense, I'm taking creative license and am basically saying my Red Arrow will be much different than the show's._

**I refuse to post spoilers on this fic, so if you're really confused, I can message you the links to the unaired episodes that she is referring to, and you can shatter your illusions of wonderfulness like I have and drown your sorrows in ice cream and the comfort of your own pillow afterwards. You have been warned.**

**I also have my second tumblr all about our lovely Roy, so go and follow that, too!**

**Anyways, sorry for the long reply and author's note. But please review!**

"This past Fourth of July, five ice villains staged simultaneous attacks. Mr. Freeze, Icicle Jr, Killer Frost, Captain Cold, and Jack Frost were all easily apprehended. Perhaps too easily," Batman began, at another mission debrief. It was only Kaldur, Superboy, Megan, and I this time around, but we were joined by Red Tornado,Superman, and Martian Manhunter.

"Cold and Frost were immediately sent to Belle Reve Penitentiary – a federal prison designed to house super criminals. The 17 year old Icicle Jr was sent to a juvenile facility along with 12 year old Jack Frost. Mr. Freeze was sent to his usual cell in Arkham Asylum, but Freeze petitioned the court to be declared legally sane and Jr sued to be tried as an adult. As a result, both await transport to Belle Reve, which seems to have been the goal all along."

"And what about Jack?" I asked, tentatively.

"He escaped during transport to a juvenile facility, and the League is currently searching for him." My eyebrows rose. I didn't think he had it in him.

"I'm sending the three of you in to find out why the ice villains are meeting," Batman said, walking towards us.

"But who inside the prison will know their true identities?" Aqualad asked, speaking about Superboy, Megan, and I.

"No one," he answered. "We can't be certain the prison staff isn't compromised."

"Alright," I began. "So what's the plan?"

"Superboy and Miss Martian will pose as the Terror Twins." He pulled up images of the duo I had come to know as Tommy and Tuppence Terror. "While you, Echo, will be taking the place of Aphrodite, who is currently under custody of the League for questioning."

My eyes widened a fraction as J'onn placed a careful hand on my shoulder. Out of all the people I could be mimicking, it had to be _her. _Sure we look alike, but Batman had no right making me go through this. "But –"

"Is there a problem?" he cut across smoothly, giving me a warning look.

"No, no problem," I muttered back, avoiding everyone's eyes by looking at my shoes.

"Good," he strode up to us, and produced a bag from his cape and handed it to me. I opened it up and caught sight of multiple boxes of bleach blonde hair dye. "For Superboy and yourself."

Even under the current circumstances, Superboy's pained look at his statement made me laugh. This was going to be fun.

* * *

><p>"Oh for the love of god, Superboy, sit still!" I commanded, shoving the clone back down onto the toilet as he tried once again to stand up. I had already gone ahead and lightened my already light blonde hair, giving me the more peroxide look Aphrodite had. There was green contacts sitting in the counter for me to put in before we left, but other than that I didn't have to do much. Not as much as Superboy, anyways.<p>

"It stings," he growled, squeezing his eyes shut as the dye began to run down his forehead.

"You've got freaking super strength, you baby. Grow a pair and let me finish!" He grumbled under his breath about me being evil as I finished wiping the excess dye off his face. I shoved the plastic covering onto his head and slammed a magazine in his lap before setting a timer. "Now sit there and if you move, so help me god I will Canary Cry for an hour in your ear. Got it?" He nodded, still glaring at me. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

I closed the door to the bathroom behind me, blocking Superboy from the humiliation of having Kaldur and Megan see him like that. "One of these days, I'm going to choke him," I muttered, squeezing my hands together in the motion as I entered the kitchen.

"I see you're in a good mood," Kaldur retorted with a slight sarcastic tone, making me roll my eyes at him.

"What is Superboy doing that's making you so mad?" Megan asked, turning away from the stove, where a pot of macaroni and cheese was cooking.

"Being a pathetic baby," I answered, knowing he could hear me easily. "Guy can't take a little peroxide."

"Perhaps you should be more forgiving towards him," Kaldur continued over the rim of his mug of tea with a smirk. "You are, after all, torturing him."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, okay. I'll do that." I turned to Megan. "Need any help?"

"I think I've got it," she smiled. "After all, it does come out of a box. Maybe you should go see how Superboy's doing?"

My phone beeped in sync with the timer in the bathroom, making me groan. Back to the torture chamber, it seemed. "Hey, Ellen DeGeneres!" I shouted, making my way towards the bathroom. "Time for Round 2!"

* * *

><p>We heard the door to the bathroom creak open after nearly two hours later, and the three of us turned our heads to see Superboy emerge from the bathroom. His head hung low and he was scowling at us, daring us to say anything. I wanted to help him preserve what little self respect he had left, but the feeling was too strong; I couldn't contain it.<p>

"What is Brigitte Nielsen doing in our house?" I shouted, before bursting into laughter and falling off the couch. Megan giggled behind her hand and Aqualad tried to keep a stony face, but ended up looking more constipated than anything.

"Very funny," Superboy grumbled, glaring at me as he sat down on an arm chair.

"Aw, Supey, it's not that bad," I whined, trying to hide my grin at his bleach blonde hair. He looked ridiculous. I'm sorry, but he did.

"Really?"

I held in my laughter behind pursed lips, making my sides shake with the effort. Little snorting noises escaped as I tried to recollect myself._ "...No!" _I broke out in another fit of giggles, clutching my stomach. He growled and stormed out of the room, slamming the door to his bedroom behind him. I'm not sure how he managed to do that, since they're sliding doors, but he did anyways.

"Maybe you should apologize," Kaldur remarked, eying Superboy's door warily.

"But..." I sighed, picking myself up off the floor and dragging my feet toward Supey's room. "Ugh, fine, I'll go apologize."

"She's not going to apologize, is she?" M'gann asked after I left the room.

"Probably not."

* * *

><p>"Oh, right on time," I remarked as soon as Tommy and Tuppence Terror crashed through the roof of the warehouse. The groaned, struggling to get up as they looked around. I quickly ran at Tuppence and stuck a collar on her neck as Aqualad did the same to Tommy.<p>

They struggled against our holds as the collars turned on, suppressing their powers.

"I don't feel right," Tommy groaned. "My strength! But I just dun gone toe-to-toe with Superman."

"Congratulations," Superboy scowled as he and M'gann walked towards us. "That's more quality time than he's ever given me."

Miss Martian shot him a sympathetic look before making her way over to Tuppence and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Got yer insperation, sister Tuppence?" Superboy grinned, using a Southern accent that made me want to burst into laughter.

"I believe I do, brother Tommy," she replied in the same accent, morphing into Tuppence.

"Aphrodite?" Tuppence gasped as I handed her off to Red Tornado, before striding over to Megan and Superboy.

"In the flesh, hun," I winked, jutting out my hip. If I was going to pretend to be Aphrodite, I was going to have to act like her, too.

"Somebody tell me what's going on!" the real Tommy shouted.

"It's simple," Batman began as he snapped collars around our necks. "They're under arrest."

* * *

><p>"Wow, you guys really went all out, didn't you?" I asked one of the guards, who glared at me. I held up the handcuffs around my wrists. "Friendship bracelets and everything!" I tried not to look over at Mr. Freeze, who was brooding to himself and staring straight ahead, or Icicle Jr, who was giving me suggestive looks every chance he got. I know I'm supposed to be Aphrodite, but for god's sake I didn't want to have to flirt with him.<p>

I glanced out of the corner of my eye as he made a kissy-face at Megan, who grimaced with a disgusted look. "Dude! Dude! " Icicle grinned, leaning over to talk to Superboy. "Your sister is _suh-weet!_ How about you put in a good word for me?"

"Sit down!" The guard – Wilcox, judging by his name tag – slammed the butt of the gun into his face, sending him flying back into me. He grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively. I made a disgusted noise and shoved him off, into the bar of the seat. "We're here. Welcome to Belle Reve."

Within minutes, the bus-like vehicle we were on pulled to a stop and Wilcox led us all off like some sort of whacked field trip. The room we stepped into was huge, enough to fit at least a thousand people. Automated guns protruded from the walls and the large tower in front of us, as more guards milled about with their own guns aimed at us threateningly.

"I am the law of last resort. My name is Amanda Waller," a large African American woman began in a commanding tone, surveying the five of us from the tower. "I am not your mother, your maiden aunt, or your friend; I am your warden, and you are my prisoners. The proprietary collars you wear are custom designed to inhibit your specific meta abilities. No strength, no mind control, no ice. In addition, the collars can and will be used to discipline inmates. A con who breaks the rules, gets one warning."

Electricity flowed from the collars, making the others fall to the ground. I winced slightly, but other than that gave no reaction. I was used to it, after all.

"If order has not been restored, the next shock will render the offender unconscious. At the slightest hint of trouble, this facility goes into lockdown. Belle Reve's walls are thick enough to hold Superman." Superboy looked down. "We know, we've checked. No one's ever escaped Belle Reve, no one ever will."

"There's a first time for everything," I sang under my breath as the strange looking bald man behind the Warden coughed.

"Oh. This is Professor Hugo Strange; he is your maiden aunt."

"Actually I'm the prison psychiatrist," he grinned. "And I promise you a sincere attempt at rehabilitation."

"Because we know you types are all about _sincerity," _Waller smirked. "Take them to their cells."

Two female guards directed Megan and I towards one entrance while two male pushed Jr and Superboy toward the other. We were forced to put on the uniforms quickly as they checked for any hidden weapons, before we were shoved out onto a walkway.

_Can you hear me? _The voice in my head asked, the one that sounded an awful lot like a certain Martian.

_Whoa, yeah, _I blinked.

_Yeah, but I thought the collars... _Superboy began

_Custom designed to inhibit Tuppence Terror's super strength, not my telepathy, but your strength is –_

_Not at Superman's level, I get it. _Where the hell did that come from?

_No, that's not what I meant –_

_Whatever._

The guards stopped moving and one of the cell doors slid open. They shoved Megan in, slammed the door shut, and kept moving. The next one they did the same to me. I glanced up at the top bunk and saw Shimmer sitting there, her legs folded and a book in her lap. She looked up at me, eyebrow raised, "Do I know you?"

"You should," I answered. "Aphrodite."

"Right hand to Zeus," she nodded her recognition. "I'm Shimmer."

"Right hand to Kobra."

She looked surprised, "How did you know that?"

I shrugged to cover up my hesitance. Was I not supposed to know this? "I know a lot of things."

"Well, you might be useful later on, then," she nodded. "It's lights out in five, by the way."

"Uh, thanks," I muttered as I climbed into the bottom bunk. The bed reminded me of a rock and I didn't even bother to lift the blankets before I laid down. I didn't trust the cleanliness of this place.

I didn't trust anything about this place, for that matter

* * *

><p>The next morning, I woke up to Shimmer's face peering down at me. "C'mon," she said. "Breakfast."<p>

Some huge woman shoved me as we walked in the doors. I glared up at her, and spat out before I could stop myself, "Nice to know everyone here has manners."

"What did you say?" she growled back.

"Nothing," Shimmer cut across. I glowered at her while the other woman laughed, until Shimmer had to actually grab my arm to keep me moving.

"Don't bother," she advised quietly before we came upon a table. Killer Frost was sitting there, along with Devastation. Frost looked up at us and smirked, gesturing towards the two empty chairs.

"I saw you almost go after Miss Ugly Ogre over there," she remarked. "She's a bitch."

"You're telling me," I replied quickly. "If this collar wasn't on I would've made her throw herself off a cliff already."

_Tess! _Megan gasped inside my head. _What are you doing?_

_Making friends. _I looked up to see her standing by the large pane of glass that was placed on the wall that separated the men from the women. Killer Frost saw Megan standing there and stood up, walking over to the window and expecting us to follow. Once I caught a glimpse of the other side, I saw Superboy and Junior being surrounded by other inmates, many of which we had fought and incarcerated during our last few missions. Brick, the big red guy whom the boys and I fought against alongside Roy months ago, was holding Superboy with his hands locked on his neck. Professor Ojo stood with his fist raised, looking as weird as ever and ready to punch Supey's lights out.

"Free shot Ojo," I barely heard Brick say.

"Wait..." he paused, hand lowering. "I know him. He's –" Superboy flipped Brick over his back and into Ojo before two other inmates grabbed his arms.

"Not wise," Brick glowered, making me roll my eyes. That seemed to be his favorite statement. "Not wise at all."

"Wait, don't you understand?" Ojo continued. "He's..." he grabbed his head, wincing. "He's Tommy...Terror."

"He's roadkill!" Brick shoved him away, prepared to hit Superboy when Icicle Senior stood up from his bench.

"Enough," he commanded. "Kid's got guts; the kind of guts a father wouldn't mind seeing in his own son." As if on cue, Junior was shoved into Superboy.

He rubbed his arm, frowning. "Great to see you too, Dad."

"Get over here." Both Superboy and Junior walked over to the bleachers. Brick reached his arm out and stopped Superboy from continuing on. "Not you, Terror. Just Junior."

_'What's going on?' Megan asked after a minute of silence. Thankfully she linked me up to the conversation so I wasn't as left out. 'What are they saying?'_

_'They're planning a break out,' he replied as we all began to be directed to our cells. 'Of all the prisoners.'_

_'What do you think we should do?" I frowned. 'Call Kaldur in?'_

_'Maybe we should wait it out and see,' Megan answered. 'After all, we don't know when they're going to do this.'_

_'Alright, then.'_

"Aphrodite, you have an appointment with Professor Strange," one of the guards said, and I was unforunately led in a different direction toward the rest. We arrived at a door with Strange's name printed on it. The guard knocked once before being granted entrance, and she shoved me inside before closing the door.

"Have a seat," Strange grinned, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. "It's nice to finally meet you, Aphrodite."

I rolled my eyes, playing up Aphrodite's attitude problems. "Yeah, wish I could say the same."

"Of course." That smile of his was really freaky, I noted, watching as he serenely went about shuffling papers, every now and then glancing up at me. "I am concerned with your relationship with your father."

"My father?" I repeated, frowning.

"Yes, _Zeus,_" he replied. "It has come to my attention that he has had a major influence on your current state of mind. Care to elaborate?"

"Are you saying he's driving me insane?"

"Well, in a sense, yes. I've heard from various resources that he has put you up to the task of finding a certain..._relative _that is essential to his cause."

"Where the hell did you hear that?" And was he talking about what I think he was talking about? "Who told you?"

"That information is, unfortunately, confidential, my dear," he straightened up, offering another smile. "How are you handling the process?"

"Well, as you can see, I'm in a goddamn prison wearing this fugly jumpsuit," I gestured to the uniform – prison orange was not Aphrodite's color. "So I'd say not well. I'd hate to see the look on Dad's face when he sees me again." I shuddered, this time there was nothing fake about it. Talking about him terrifies me. "The last thing I need is for him to –"

"Go on," he urged, leaning forward with an eager expression.

_'The break is coming,' _Superboy said in my head, making me jump. _'Sooner than later.'_

_'Roger that, Billy Idol,' _I smirked, seeking satisfaction in his annoyed sigh.

_'Updating Aqualad now.'_

I paused, realizing that whatever I revealed in here was going to hurt Aphrodite in the long run, and I'd hate to do that to her, even if she is a villain. "...No, I think I'm done for today."

He sighed, and a guard opened the door. "Very well. I will see you in a few days."

As we were walking out, I passed Megan and Superboy, who were apparently going for a session after me. We caught each other's eyes, and I nodded, signifying that I was okay while they did the same. Once I made it back to my cell, I saw that there was a new uniform sitting on my bed. I glanced up at Shimmer, who gestured for me to put it on, and I quickly stripped out of the old one. We laid around for about a half an hour before I got a message from Superboy.

_'Megan, Tess, Icicle Senior says it's going down, now. You need to tell Frost.' _Within seconds, a strange sound came from the collar around my neck, and I gaped when I realized it had shut off.

"The collars!" I said, and Shimmer smirked, rolling onto the floor next to me.

"They're breaking us out," she concluded, trying the bars of the door. It opened with ease. "C'mon, we've got to meet up with Frost." We found her, Devestation, Megan, and a few others on the bottom floor, standing over a guard.

"Please!" she pleaded, scrambling away on her back. "I have a family!"

"Oh, beg some more," Frost laughed, ice forming in her hand. "It's much sweeter that way."

Suddenly, the ice exploded before it could leave her hand, just as Megan shouted, "No!"

Frost whirled around to see Megan standing there with her hands raised. "Well, Tuppy," she began. "Aren't you just full of hidden talents?"

Megan's eyes narrowed, _'Superboy, I think my powers have –' _Devestation grabbed her from behind, and Frost quickly raised her hands, freezing her on the spot in a large block of ice. My jaw dropped open, horrified, but I was forced to shake myself out of it before arrousing suspicion, and I pushed the guard into a cell and lockin it.

"Before I forget," Frost began, and pressed her hand to my collar. It froze, and broke away easily once I tugged on it. "Just in case." I nodded my thanks before she turned around and began to run down the hallway. "This way." We arrived at a dead end rather quickly, which she began to freeze. Devestation walked past her and started punching the wall – weakening it. Frost and I stood by, waiting for her to break through while I'm sure Superboy and Junior were working at it on the other side.

With my sensitive ears, I heard a commotion going on on Superboy's side of the wall. It sounded like fighting. Body's slammed against a wall and shouting was heard, before suddenly the wall crumbled down. The dust cleared away, revealing a panting Superboy.

"Well, well, well," Frost smirked. "It's the brother. Care to share Tuppy's fate?"

He turned his head to see Megan's poor statue and gasped, before squeezing his eyes shut and growling. He threw a punch at devestation, who quickly hit back. Frost tried to aim at them, but I quickly ran up and tackled her. "You little bitch!" she shouted, trying to ice me, but I rolled out of the way. And the shot missed just as Superboy threw Devestation back, and it hit her perfectly. The frozen statue of her slammed right in to Frost and both of them slammed into the floor, knocked out..._cold. _Okay, this isn't an appropriate time for puns.

"Dude!" Junior gasped, walking into the room. "What are you thinking?" Superboy sighed, walking over to block of ice Megan was encased in. "Oh, dude...I'm sorry."

He seemd genuine, which shocked me into staring at him as he watched his friend place a hand on the ice and wipe away the condensation from the area around her face. "She was such a total babe, too," Junior sighed, and I smacked his arm. "Hey!"

"Not the time." Superboy reared back to punch the ice, but both Icicle and I stopped him.

"Dude, stop! You'll shatter her!"

"Believe me, if I could crack the ice without hurting her, I would've already," I frowned.

"If she's still alive in there at all." I stared at her, tears beginning to pool in my eyes at the thought of Megan never being with us again. I don't think I could stand it if she – if any of our teammates – died. We've all grown so close, and...

A loud crack shocked me out of my thoughts, as the ice suddenly began to break apart. It shattered, showering us with shards of ice as Megan fell to the ground. Superboy ran to her and helped her up. "Are you alright?" he asked, grabbing her arms.

"It's pretty cold where I come from, I –" she suddenly stopped as he pressed his lips to hers. She froze, before beginning to kiss back.

"About freaking time!" I grinned.

"Dude!" Icicle shouted, completely horrified. "That's your sister!"

Megan began to change back to her normal form, green skin and all, making his mouth drop open. "What? Wait, is she – and are you...?" he groaned, pressing his hand to his forehead. "Oh, Dad's gonna kill me." Icicle turned to me with utter dread. "And I'm guessing you're not Aphrodite."

I rolled my eyes, clasping him on his shoulder with a small smile, "No, but let's just say we're close, yeah?"

Walking up to the two lovebirds, I whistled and snapped my fingers. "Hey, kids," they finally broke apart, thank god, and glared at me. "Can you finish this in private? I'm pretty sure we've got to head home now and you're making me want to vomit."


	18. Chapter 18 Part 1

**A/N: So my plan was to update yesterday with the whole chapter, because it was my birthday, but alas, Young Justice RP is controlling my life now. Anyways, thank you guys so much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I love you!**

**And, as a present to you from me, on my birthday, I give you a past-revealing chapter of Take the Shot!...Although it definitely isn't my favorite chapter.**

**Question of the day (answer in reviews): How old do you think I am? I'm very curious :)**

"So you have told no one else of this...mole?" Red Tornado asked Kaldur and I as the three of us stood in the training room alone.

"We cannot be sure one exists," Aqualad frowned, crossing his arms. "And if it does, if the team is being betrayed from within, I must investigate without...tipping my hand. But, perhaps we should tell Batman?"

"He'd seem like the type to know how to handle these things," I added carefully.

"Generally, the Batman expects the team to handle it's own problems, but the decision is yours," Red answered, walking past us and towards the teleporter. "I will return after my monitor duty at the Watchtower."

"I thought you were exempt from monitor duty?" Kaldur asked. "Since becoming our...den mother."

The computer called out Red's identification number as the light began to glow, and he turned to face us. If he had any facial expressions, I would probably guess he was smirking. "I agreed to cover for Green Arrow. He has an...interpersonal affair with Black Canary. A...hot date."

My face morphed into an expression of utter disgust as Tornado disappeared, and I rolled my eyes. "That's the last thing I needed to hear about GA and Canary. I get enough of the play-by-play at home." I began to walk towards the teleporter, tapping the coordinates of the zeta beam in the Hall of Justice. Kaldur watched me straighten my shoulder bag with a raised eyebrow.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm meeting up with a friend of mine for lunch," I replied, trying to make my avoidance of his eyes not seem like it was a big deal. The last thing I need is for him to think _I _was the mole. "I expect I'll be back later if this 'hot date' thing runs its course."

I gave him a two-fingered salute before a flash of light clouded my vision, and I was suddenly standing on the landing pad at the Hall. The Flash looked up from his magazine and grinned at me as I stepped onto the carpet. There was a chorus of oos and ahs from above us as tourists snapped photos from the window looking in. I rolled my eyes as Barry hugged me. "How're you doing, kiddo?" he greeted, ruffling my hair.

Shoving him off, I fixed him with a mock glare. "Pretty good, considering the circumstances," I shrugged as he led me down the hallway and out of the tourist's sight. We stopped in front of a door and he punched in a code to the keypad before it slid open, revealing an interrogation room. There was a two-way mirror separating the first room from the second, which had an obnoxious florescent glow to it. "How long do I get?"

He glanced at the clock behind us as he shut the door, before offering a comforting smile. "As long as you'd like, kiddo. I've got all day."

"Thanks, Barry." He nodded, and I slowly opened the door that led to the next room, before taking a seat on one side of the metal table.

"Hey," I greeted quietly, biting my lip. "How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?" the person in front of me repeated incredulously, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Not too well, I'd say. After all, you all are keeping me trapped here."

I rolled my eyes, leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms. "I'm sorry, would you rather we send you to prison?"

Aphrodite was silent, avoiding my eyes as she stared at the ceiling tiles, before she smirked, placing her feet upon the table. "So I heard you got to play the taxing role of myself last week. How'd you like it?"

"As fun as it was, I think I'll stick to being me."

"Good, I'm glad," she offered me one of her rare smiles – the kind that always gave me a comforted feeling. "I don't want you to be like me...not again."

"Why not?"

"Why not?" she repeated incredulously, her feet hitting the floor with a loud thud as she sat up in her chair. "The last thing I want is for you to go back to that torture."

"You say that as if it will happen again," I muttered, avoiding her eyes. "As if he'll come back."

She sighed, and I could hear the sympathy and pity in her next statement, "He's already come back."

"You're lying," I glared. "He's dead."

"He's not dead –"

"Yes he is!" I shouted as I stood up, the chair clanging to the floor. "I killed him!"

"Sit down," she commanded. I didn't listen to her, and instead chose to pace the room, running my fingers through my hair. "Athene, you didn't kill him. Do you really think you can electrocute a man with the power of electricity?"

"I..." I had honestly never thought about that. It was so long ago...Nine years now? Everything seemed much simpler then. "I..."

"Dad played you, kid," she continued. "He played me, the League, Ares...he got all of us good."

"Then where is he now?"

"Can't say for sure," Aphrodite shrugged indifferently as I took a seat in front of her again. "I get letters that appear out of nowhere from him, but he has no return address."

"Do you have any of the letters?" Maybe, if we're lucky, we can trace the prints at the cave and find out who delivers them.

"I burn them after I read them." She gave me a suspicious look. "Why do you need them. You're not thinking of tracking him down, are you?" I bit my lip, fixing my gaze at a dent on the table that I had made. "You are!"

"I'll do anything to stop him, Aphrodite. You know that."

"But you're looking to get yourself killed!" she protested. "You don't need to go after him, Athene. You've already gotten out. Be thankful. You're free; don't pull yourself back in just because you think it's the right thing to do."

"But it_ is_ the right thing to do," I frowned. "I'm supposed to go after him. It's what I do."

"Can't you just ignore it?"

"And let him take over the world and do the same thing to innocent people like he did to my mom? No thank you."

"Oh, now you're turning it into revenge."

I rubbed my face, annoyed, and peered at her through my fingers. "It's not just that, it's –"

"It sure sounds like it." She rolled her eyes, sighing. "Look, if you're really sure about doing this –"

"I am."

"Then I might be able to help." My head snapped up, and I stared at her incredulously. She shrugged with a small smile. "Hey, what are sisters for, right?"

"But you want something out of it, right?" another voice interrupted, and we both turned to the door to see Barry standing there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. He smirked at our obvious surprise. "Hey, I was paying attention. So what is it?"

"A get out of jail free card," she replied, biting her lip. At our hesitant looks, she sighed. "I don't want to be held accountable for Dad's actions anymore."

"The problem is, we're not too sure we can trust you," Flash frowned. "We don't know if as soon as we let you go, you're going to manipulate thousands of people again."

"I wont be able to if you take away my powers." We froze, not expecting that in the least. "Athene, I want to be normal. This is the only way I can be. After this is all over, I want someone to take my powers away. No more mind control, no more lightning."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

Flash extended his arm forward. "It's a deal," he grinned. "Of course, I'll have to talk to the League about it, but still. Who's hungry?"

My communicator beeped, making me sigh. "I think I'll have to pass on that, unfortunately. Looks like the Team needs me."

"If you're sure," he teased. "I was gonna get _ice cream._"

"You sound like Kid Flash," I replied, laughing as I backed up towards the door. "I'll be back tomorrow, Aphrodite."

"See you then, Athene," she saluted me, before turning to Flash as I closed the door behind me. "About that ice cream..."


End file.
